The Places You Will Be From
by abbierena
Summary: Sequel to This Is The Year.  The Cabenmichael girls are now out of high school and Olivia is hell-bent on getting Alex back while Abbie is preparing for life in Texas with Serena.
1. I'll Never Get Over You Getting Over Me

Olivia took the elevator up to the third floor of Alex's building and took a deep breath as she mentally prepared herself to walk down the hall. She hadn't told Alex she was visiting her, but she had a feeling Alex would enjoy her surprise. She had a bouquet of daisies in her hand and an engagement ring in the other. She was about to make a serious commitment to the girl who had broken her heart, but she knew she was ready. Most importantly, she knew Alex was ready. They had been apart all summer and all she could think about was Alex. She knew she couldn't go on living if Alex wasn't her wife.

"Liv!" Alex said excitedly once she opened the door.

"Lex, I had to see you," Olivia told her and handed her the flowers. "Two months is way too long."

"I love you so much, baby," Alex said as she leaned in to kiss Olivia.

"I'm sorry about what happened with—"

"No, there's no need to be sorry about that," Alex told her. "Olivia Benson, you have apologized enough. I forgive you."

"Does this mean we're back together again?" Olivia asked.

"Yes," Alex told her. "Liv, I don't want to go another second without being your girlfriend."

"I don't want you to be my girlfriend," Olivia said to a now very shocked Alex.

"What?" Alex asked.

Olivia got down on one knee in the doorway of Alex's dorm room and pulled out the engagement ring. "Alexandra Cabot, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" Alex said excitedly. She pulled Olivia in and started to undress her. "I think a little celebration is in order."

"Olivia Lorraine Benson, get your ass out of bed!" Serena told her daughter, waking her up from what she considered to be the greatest dream she ever had. When Olivia wouldn't budge, she pushed her until she fell off the bed.

Olivia woke up to find that she wasn't in Alex's dorm room. Rather, she was in a beach house that she was visiting against her will. When she heard the sound of Pete and his daughters downstairs, she remembered that she was on day two of the Benson/Moretti family vacation. Usually, when they'd go on vacation, it would be with her aunts Olivia and Lorraine and her mom would let her bring Abbie so she'd have somebody to hang out with. This time, her mom suggested renting a beach house and Olivia was excited until she found out instead of her aunts joining them, they would be spending the week with Pete and his daughters Ashley, Brittany, and Tiffany. Olivia wished he would have brought his son Scotty, but Scotty had football practice and college football was so much more demanding than high school football. This meant Olivia and Abbie were left with three young girls who were nothing like they were as children.

"Mom, what the hell?" Olivia asked as she picked herself up. "Why are you waking me up?"

"Because it's 4 in the afternoon, Olivia," Serena said. "All summer long you have spent every day sleeping and every night crying over Alex."

"I was dreaming about her," Olivia told her mom.

"You're always dreaming about her," Serena said, frustrated. "It's been two months, Livvy, and I know you're hurting, but it's time to either do something about it or move on with your life."

"You don't understand, Mom!" Olivia said. "Alex is my life and she's gone. I might as well not even exist anymore."

"This is the exact same thing you said about Jenny last summer," Serena reminded her.

"Don't talk about Jenny!" Olivia said angrily. "I hate Jenny! And I hate being here! I hate all of you! Why did you even make me come here?"

Serena grabbed Olivia by the arm and forced her into the shower. "You can hate me all you want, Olivia, but I'm doing this for your own good."

"I hate you!" Olivia shouted at her mom and then slammed the bathroom door. She quickly showered and threw on a sundress, not because she wanted to but because it was the only thing that fit her. She usually spent an hour on her hair and make-up, but instead she just let her wet hair hang down without so much as running a comb through it.

"Come on," Serena said forcefully as she grabbed Olivia by the arm again and forced her to sit down at the kitchen table. Peter had barbecued hamburgers and placed one on a plate in front of Olivia along with some potato chips.

"I don't want this," Olivia said as she pushed her plate away.

"Olivia, sweetheart, you have to eat something," Peter urged. "You've lost almost ten pounds this summer because you're not eating."

"So? I'll just lose another ten pounds," Olivia said. "I don't want to eat and you can't force me. Just because you're banging my mom doesn't mean you have to try to have a daddy/daughter relationship with me."

"What's banging mean?" Twelve-year-old Tiffany asked. "Is that like having sex?"

"What's sex?" Five-year-old Ashley asked.

"It's what mommies and daddies do when they want to make a baby," Seven-year-old Brittany told her little sister.

"Not only married people have babies," Olivia informed them. "My daddy was a rapist and my mom kept me when she should have had an abortion. If she had an abortion, I wouldn't be going through any of this right now."

Peter wanted to tell her something, but he felt as if it wasn't his place to lecture Serena's daughter.

"Drink this," Serena said as she put a strawberry smoothie in front of Olivia. "If you're not going to eat solid foods, I want you to at least have something in your system."

"No," Olivia said. She tried to knock the glass over, but Serena stopped her.

"Open up," Serena said. When Olivia refused, she forced open her daughter's mouth and started pouring the smoothie. So Olivia couldn't spit it out, she covered her mouth with her hand and didn't remove it until she swallowed.

"You're such a bitch," Olivia told her.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Serena told her as she forced Olivia to take another drink. "And I'm going to pour the rest of this down your throat if you don't start eating. You look like shit, too. No wonder Alex doesn't want you back. You look emaciated and you haven't touched kk in weeks. Oh and it's called make-up, Olivia. Use it."

Olivia gave her mom a dirty look before gulping down the smoothie and leaving the table.

"That was a little harsh, Serena," Peter told her.

"Yeah, that was so mean," Tiffany added. "Poor Olivia."

"Poor Olivia, my ass," Abbie told them. "That wasn't mean at all."

"Thank you, Eddie," Serena told her. "I'm glad one person is on my side. Peter, you know nothing about teenage girls and you need to learn because Tiffany is headed there. Olivia is my baby and I love her, but she's also arrogant, spoiled, and obsessed with looking good for Alex. I have to speak to her vanity. If I don't, I won't get anywhere with her."

"She's been moping around the house for two months now, doing nothing but crying and listening to depressing love songs," Abbie told Peter. "This has to stop."

Abbie knew Olivia had been depressed since graduation, but she didn't want to point out to Peter or Serena that these two days were the first time Olivia had actually been disrespectful or hostile. She knew Olivia hated a 'family' vacation with anyone other than the women she felt were truly her family.

"Where are you going?" Serena asked when she saw Olivia approach the front door. Her bangs were teased, her hair was in a French braid, and she was wearing make-up for the first time in weeks.

"Out," Olivia said curtly and then slammed the door behind her.

"I'll keep an eye on her," Abbie told them and then went chasing after Olivia.

"Abbie, thank goodness you're here," Olivia said as she started walking with one arm around Abbie's waist. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Abbie told her.

"Out of everyone here, I think you're the only person I love," Olivia admitted. "I want to be with my family. That's what family vacations are all about. Remember last year at Disney World? That was so much fun! You, me, and my mom rode Star Tours over and over again and then she bought us light sabers and the two of us talked like Yoda for the rest of the day. And then when she left us alone to join Olivia and Lorraine for dinner, you and I pigged out on pizza, popcorn, and ice cream and then rode It's A Small World and I dared you to drink the water, but you wouldn't unless I drank it with you."

"So, we both drank the water and threw up for like ten straight minutes when we got to the bathroom," Abbie added. "That was hilarious!"

"Life was so easy back then," Olivia said sadly. "I miss those days."

"It'll be easy again someday, Liv," Abbie insisted. "Everyone gets their heart broken, but broken hearts can be mended."

"It's not just Alex," Olivia admitted. "It's this bullshit family vacation. Peter is cool and you know I love Scotty even though I can't understand what he's saying. I just can't handle Tiffany, Ashley, and Brittany. I know they're girls but they're nothing like me and my mom. Tiffany is like a 12-year-old straight version of Becky Albers. She's a ditz and all she talks about is boys. Brittany and Ashley want to be princesses. Princesses, Abbie! When I was their age, I wanted to be Wonder Woman. I wanted to be strong and brave."

"And you also wanted to wear your mom's clothes and make-up and go to Studio 54 with her," Abbie pointed out. "Brittany and Ashley don't just want to be princesses. They also pretend they're Power Rangers. As for Tiffany, she's 12; it's normal for her to be ditzy and talk about boys. When you were 12, you were so obsessed with teasing your hair and you went through so many cans of Aqua Net. Instead of being boy crazy like Tiffany, you were girl crazy. Don't think I forgot about your bedroom walls being covered in pictures of Debbie Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Demi Moore. Face it, Olivia, it doesn't matter if they're the opposite of you or exactly like you, you just want to be the only girl and you feel as if Peter and your mom get married, his daughters are going to replace you because they'll be living with them and you'll be on your own."

"That's what this trip is about, isn't it?" Olivia asked. "Peter probably wants to ask my mom to marry him and he wants to see how well we get along. What he doesn't know is that my mommy won't marry him. Just a few months ago, she was freaked out about living with him. She's so headstrong and it would kill me if she became June Cleaver or Carol Brady."

"That'll never be her," Abbie insisted. "And you'll always be her Livvy."

"Just like you'll always be my Abbie," Olivia said and gave her a kiss in front of everyone on the boardwalk. "I think you're the only person who keeps me sane."

"Same here," Abbie said.

"Hey, a pay phone," Olivia said excitedly. "I'm going to try calling Alex."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Abbie said, but it was too late to stop her.

Olivia deposited some change into the slot and dialed Alex's phone number at her dorm. It rang four times before someone finally answered.

"Hello?" a girl responded.

"Hi, can I talk to Alex?" Olivia asked.

"She's not here, but I'm Bree, her roommate. Do you want me to take a message?"

"Can you tell her that Olivia misses her?"

"Olivia!" Bree said excitedly. "You're Alex's high school friend. Okay, I'll give her your message."

Bree's words hit Olivia hard. She was now nothing more than a high school friend to the love of her life.

"Thanks, do you know where she is?" Olivia asked.

"She's out with some girl named Dana," Bree informed her. "The two of them have been spending a lot of time together."

"Is she a classmate or something?" Olivia asked.

"I'm not sure," Bree responded. "But Alex is always so giddy when she's around her. Dana is a senior, so I'm trying to warn Alex. I don't want her getting her heart broken, you know?"

"Totally," Olivia said and then Abbie smirked. How the word 'totally' escaped Olivia Benson's lips was beyond either of them.

As soon as their conversation ended, Olivia slammed the phone down and started crying again.

"Livya, what's wrong?" Abbie asked.

"She's seeing someone," Olivia told her. "My Alex found another girl. I've lost her forever."

Abbie had no idea if Olivia really had lost Alex forever, but regardless she knew it was her duty as Olivia's best friend to be there for her. At that moment, she held Olivia close as she cried into her shoulder.

* * *

><p>Alex walked into her dorm room with a huge smile on her face.<p>

"Dana is the greatest girl I have ever met," she told Bree.

"You say that every time you see her," Bree pointed out. "Oh, Olivia called for you."

"Olivia called?" Alex asked, surprised. "I haven't talked to her in months. Did she say why she called?"

Bree shrugged. "She just said she misses you."

"Good for her," Alex said and started laughing.

"Hey, I'm going out with some of the girls. Do you want to come with?" Bree asked.

"Thanks, but I'm going to stay in," Alex told her. "I have a lot of reading to do."

"Suit yourself," Bree teased. "But I know Dana is going to come in for a study break on your bed."

"You know it," Alex bragged. It was a lie, but there was no way Alex was going to admit her real plans for the evening. As soon as Bree left, Alex put on a mix tape she and Olivia would listen to when they made love. Then she went into her closet and pulled out a box of mementos from when they were a couple. There were pictures, letters, and a bottle of Olivia's perfume. She grabbed the perfume and sprayed it all over her bed so she could feel like Olivia was there with her. Then she grabbed a roll of Scotch tape from her desk drawer and taped a picture of Olivia to her wall. She fell asleep that night listening to Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares To You" and thinking of every reason why she was still in love with Olivia.


	2. Rebel Girl

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. They really made my day :)**

Two days had passed since Olivia had called Alex; two days of crying, moping around the beach house, and refusing to eat, but she swore to bring herself out of that rut. She had realized that crying over Alex wasn't going to make her situation any better. If she wanted Alex back, she would have to take action. There was nothing she could do to win Alex over while she was at the beach house, but she vowed to do _something_once her vacation was over.

That morning, she woke up at a decent hour, made herself look presentable, and walked downstairs to the kitchen. Her mom and Tiffany had made pancakes and Olivia was ready to eat to her heart's content.

"Someone's in a better mood," Peter pointed out as they were all sitting at the table for breakfast.

"She had an epiphany," Abbie told him. "And a wet dream about Alex."

"Abbie!" Olivia said with her mouth full of pancakes.

"What?" Abbie asked and started laughing. "You haven't had sex in two months so I figured it must have been a good one. You were moaning, 'Alex, oh, Alex. You're so tight, baby.'"

Abbie and Olivia were laughing hysterically, but Peter told them that wasn't appropriate family conversation.

"Aren't you going to say something about this?" Peter asked his girlfriend.

"Why should I?" Serena responded. "My girls are 18 and it's normal for them to be exploring their sexuality. We don't shy away from that topic in the Benson household, do we, Livvy?"

"No way," Olivia told Peter. "Ever since I was a little girl, my mom would answer any questions I had about sex and sexuality. She wanted me to have a healthy attitude toward sex and I do. So, let's drop this topic of conversation before another argument breaks out. My mom raised me one way and you and your ex-wife are raising your daughters another way. One way isn't better than the other. My mom is just a little more open than most people and I love her for that."

"Speaking of sex," Abbie said to ease the tension. "It's 11 o'clock, Livya. Time for Trisha to sunbathe."

"Who is Trisha?" Peter asked.

"A goddess," Olivia answered.

"A major babe," Abbie added. "She makes me weak in the knees and she makes Olivia's mouth hang open."

"She's the girl next door," Serena told Peter.

"She's not a girl," Olivia told her mom. "Trisha is 27."

"That makes her a _real_woman," Abbie and Olivia said in unison and then started laughing.

"I talked to her yesterday," Abbie told them. "She's as sweet as she is gorgeous. And she's a police officer. That gives her at least a thousand more hotness points."

"I'd love to see her in her uniform," Olivia said dreamily.

"I'd love to take it off of her," Abbie added.

"Eddie, you have a girlfriend," Serena reminded her.

"I know, I know," Abbie sighed.

Abbie and Olivia scarfed down the rest of their pancakes and hurried to the room to change into their bikinis. Their plan was to head to the beach for the duration of Trisha's sunbathing. Abbie was faithful to her girlfriend and Olivia knew she had no shot with a 27-year-old but they both figured it wouldn't hurt to take in the scenery for as long as they could.

* * *

><p>Alex walked into a coffee shop on campus in hopes that she'd see Dana. Dana had been her orientation counselor and although there were other students in her orientation group, Alex noticed that Dana gave her special attention. They had exchanged numbers on the last day of orientation and Alex waited less than an hour to call her. Spending time with Dana was nothing like spending time with Olivia. Olivia made Alex laugh and they shared a history, but Alex was starting to feel like she was beyond that. She began thinking of Olivia the same way she thought of Casey, as nothing more than a child with no direction in life. Olivia was her high school sweetheart, but Alex kept telling herself that this was college and no matter how much she was in love with Olivia, there was no way they'd have a future together if Olivia had no idea what she wanted out of life. Alex thought of Dana as a grown woman with direction. She was a 21-year-old senior and political science major. She was already studying for the LSATs and working on law school applications. Dana was everything that Alex wanted to be and she felt grateful every time she was in her presence.<p>

"Alex, you can sit over here," Dana called out from a nearby table. Alex nodded toward her and walked over there with her latte in one hand and a history textbook in the other. She wanted Dana to think she had went there with the intentions of studying and not because she knew she would be there.

"How is your day so far?" Alex asked even though she knew it was a dumb question.

"It's better now that you're here," Dana told her.

"What are you doing tonight?" Alex asked after they had shared a few minutes of small talk.

"Just studying for the LSATs," Dana responded. "Why?"

"Bree is going to a party tonight so I have the room to myself," Alex told her. "Maybe you could come over."

It was a bold move seeing as they had never been on an actual date, but Alex didn't care. Alex knew Dana wanted her as much as she wanted Dana. Dana was a busy woman who didn't have time for a relationship, but Alex figured no one could pass up friends with benefits.

"I have an apartment," Dana told her as she started rubbing Alex's arm. "You can spend the night and we can do anything we want with no interruptions."

Her words made Alex start to quiver. "Do you want to go right now?" Alex asked, unable to wait another second.

* * *

><p>"She's a doll," Abbie said to Olivia after they returned from the beach. Being in the sun had wore them out, so they decided to change into their pajamas and spend the rest of the day relaxing indoors.<p>

"How was the beach?" Tiffany asked from her spot on the living room couch. She had spent the whole day there listening to music and reading a magazine Abbie and Olivia had never heard of. Everyone else was paired off except for her. Abbie and Olivia had each other and so did Ashley and Brittany. As a twelve year old, she was caught in between her kid sisters and her teenage future stepsister, and Olivia was starting to feel sorry for her.

"It was cool," Olivia said nonchalantly. "What's haps?"

"Not much," Tiffany said as she pushed stop on her walkman. "I'm just listening to a tape I made before we got here."

"Let me guess, it's Paula Abdul, Marky Mark, and Amy Grant," Olivia teased.

"Hardly," Tiffany told her. "It's Bikini Kill, L7, Babes in Toyland, and Bratmobile."

"Babes in Toyland? Bratmobile?" Abbie asked. "Are those little teenybopper bands?"

"We listen to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, you know, cool bands," Olivia told her.

"Ugh, you two are so mainstream," Tiffany said. "You think I'm a ditz, but you two have no idea of what's going on around you. If it's not about video games, sex, or girls in bikinis, it's like you don't even care."

"She has a point," Abbie told Olivia.

"So enlighten us," Olivia said to Tiffany. "There's a stereo in my room. Pop the tape in and try to convince us that your kiddy pop is better than Nirvana."

"Gladly," Tiffany agreed. The three of them went to the room and Tiffany popped the tape in Olivia's stereo. Abbie and Olivia had expected pop music but what they heard was edgy and raw.

"I'm not hating this," Olivia admitted after the first few songs. "That song 'Rebel Girl' reminds me of Abbie."

"I was just going to say the same thing about you," Abbie told Olivia. "I think 'Double Dare Ya' speaks to me. And 'Fuck Yr Fans' is just rad. I've never heard girls use that word so much in a song."

"I told you they were great," Tiffany said.

"I like Tiffany. Tiffany can hang," Abbie told Olivia.

"Fine with me," Olivia agreed. "This music has inspired me. Let's do something crazy."

"Like what?" Abbie asked.

"Let's get something pierced, all three of us," Olivia insisted. "It'll be a bonding experience. Abbie, you're like a sister to me and, Tiffany, you're probably going to be my stepsister. I want to start this off right."

"I'm in," Abbie said.

"I'm 12. I can't get pierced without a parent's permission," Tiffany reminded them.

"You're with us and we're 18," Olivia pointed out. "You're golden."

* * *

><p>Alex left Dana's apartment a little after 9 o'clock that night. Dana had asked her to spend the night, but Alex realized she wasn't ready to take that step. Unfortunately, she realized it after she had already had sex with Dana. As she walked home, she began thinking about how sex with Dana was nothing like sex with Olivia. Dana was older and more experienced and she had done things to Alex's body that she had never thought possible. To be honest, Alex was amazed that she could even walk after what Dana had done to her.<p>

Regardless of how great sex with Dana was, there was still something missing. When they were finished, the two of them laid there naked and tried to make conversation as if they were obligated to. It was awkward and Alex couldn't stop thinking about Olivia.

As she continued walking, she started to think about how sex with Olivia was innocent, sweet, and so full of emotion. There were plenty of awkward moments between them, but Alex knew it was because they were so young and new to all of this. Making love was a learning experience for them and they knew they were experiencing something new together. They'd occasionally stop in the middle of what they were doing to tell each other 'I love you' and, afterward, they would always cuddle and open up to each other about everything. Olivia would hold Alex close and tell her why she was beautiful and why she was so lucky to have her as a girlfriend. Alex missed Olivia's strong, loving arms and gentle kisses. Most importantly, she missed being young with Olivia and the crazy things Olivia would do to make her laugh. She started to feel bad about every negative thought she had about Olivia. She didn't care if Olivia didn't have a career in mind because Olivia had always seen Alex in her future and that was all that mattered.

When Alex reached her dorm room, she threw herself on her bed and started to cry like she did last night and the night before. She wanted Olivia and she fell asleep wondering if Olivia was thinking about her, too.

"That hurt like hell," Olivia said after getting her nose pierced. "But it was so worth it!"

"This is the liberation!" Tiffany told her. "You're your own woman now."

"Some woman," Abbie said sarcastically. "Livya, you screamed like a bitch when that guy shoved a needle through your nose."

"Details," Olivia insisted. "At least I didn't bitch out like you did. Even Tiffany got second holes in her ears."

"And rad lightning bolt earrings," Tiffany added.

"Regardless, that hoop in your nose is sexy," Abbie told Olivia. "Alex is going to be on her knees for you next time you see her."

"This isn't about Alex," Olivia said as they started their walk home. "This is about me for once. Forget Alex. I've been in love with her since I was a little girl and now she's probably off fucking some Princeton girl. She doesn't give a damn about me and I'm finished with her. I have my best friend and my little sister with me tonight and I'm finally going to be okay."


	3. You're In Love

**juicetroop82: **They're drifting apart for now, but those two belong together. :) **Dee Hensley: **haha I imagine being corrupted by Abbie and Olivia would be so much fun. Tiffany is a very lucky girl. Olivia with a nose ring would be totally hot. **peterpeter: **You might just get what you're hoping for in the next couple of chapters. :) **ShannonandStella: **Thank you so much! Your review really made me smile. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. **Sidle13: **I'm glad you loved that chapter. Olivia just might see Alex really soon. **AmizZ EvAnGeLiNe: **Alex deviated for awhile, but she loves her some Olivia. Who wouldn't? haha. **litafan82: **I think Liv is the one for everyone. haha. Oh how you've made me love that woman. **Lisa: **It IS true. A gorgeous, Texas rebel girl. (sigh)

* * *

><p>The night the girls got pierced, Abbie and Olivia insisted that Tiffany sleep in their room. Tiffany's mom worked long hours so she was never around and her father had good intentions but he was clueless about raising a pre-teen girl. Olivia had always wanted a little sister and Tiffany had always wanted a big sister, so it worked out perfectly. Abbie and Olivia spent the whole night and most of the morning showing Tiffany how to put on make-up and tease her bangs. Olivia even went as far as letting her use kk, her curling iron. Not even Alex was able to use kk.<p>

"Ladies and gentlemen," Olivia announced to Peter and Serena from her position on top of the staircase. "I'd like to present to you the new and ready for 7th grade…Tiffany Amber Moretti!"

Tiffany slowly walked down the stairs and started to model her new look for her dad and Serena. She was wearing some of Abbie and Olivia's clothes along with their make-up, a French braid, and teased bangs.

"The lovely brown hair and brown-eyed Tiffany is wearing a dark denim mini-skirt by Abercrombie & Fitch and courtesy of her future stepsister Olivia Benson, a Siouxsie and the Banshees t-shirt courtesy of the lovely Abbie Carmichael, and a vintage leather jacket that belonged to her father Peter Moretti when he was in junior high. The lightning bolt earrings are from the model's own accessories collection and the hemp necklace with a peace sign medallion was handmade in 1967 by the always cool and always with it Serena Benson. The high-top Reebok sneakers and scrunched pink socks complete her ensemble. In just a few short weeks, our model Tiffany Moretti will be taking Fallbrook Junior High by storm. So, hang on to your boyfriends Fallbrook girls because Tiffany is smart, gorgeous, and she _always_knows what's haps."

"You look beautiful," Serena told Tiffany, which made the 12-year-old start to smile.

"Beautiful, but too grown up," Peter told his daughter. "I don't like all that make-up and your bangs teased."

"It's just lip gloss and mascara, Daddy," Tiffany said, frustrated. "And all the girls do their hair like this. Abbie and Olivia do."

"Abbie and Olivia are 18, sweetheart," Peter pointed out. "You're only 12."

"This is _bogus_," Tiffany said and then hurried back to the room.

"I'll go talk to her," Peter told Serena, but Olivia stopped him.

"No offense, but I think you're the last person she wants to talk to right now," Olivia told him. "This is a girl thing and she needs a girl, or maybe even two girls, to talk to. Abbie and I will handle this. It's strictly a Neapolitan issue."

"Neapolitan?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, Neapolitan. That's our little group," Olivia informed him. "I love strawberry ice cream, Abbie loves chocolate, and Tiffany loves vanilla. Together, we are Neapolitan and right now our vanilla ice cream needs us. We'll talk to you two later."

* * *

><p>That night, Alex picked up the phone in her dorm and hesitated before dialing the phone number at the beach house. It was a long shot, but she was hoping it was the same as it was last summer and that Olivia was still there.<p>

"Hello?" an all-too-familiar voice answered.

"Liv, it's Alex," she said excitedly.

"What's up?" Olivia asked.

"Nothing," Alex said and she started to become nervous. "I miss you."

"Lex, I can't talk right now," Olivia told her.

"Why?" Alex asked.

"It's none of your business, but I'm chillin' with Abbie and Tiffany."

"They can wait," Alex insisted. "You and I haven't talked in two months."

"Well, we would have talked the other day if you weren't out with some other girl and don't say she's just a friend. Bree told me how you act around her," Olivia said, trying not to let Alex hear how hurt she was. "You're not my priority anymore, Lex. "

Alex was about to come clean to Olivia about Dana and how she could never love anyone the way she loves Olivia, but she didn't have the chance. Olivia hung up before Alex could get another word in.

* * *

><p>"She has some nerve," Abbie said when the phone started ringing for a second time.<p>

"It's probably Lex again," Olivia said and rolled her eyes. She picked up the phone knowing it would probably be her. "What do you want now?"

"My girlfriend," the person on the other line said. "And don't take that tone with me, Olivia Benson."

"Serena?" Olivia asked.

"No," Serena said sarcastically. "Hurry up and give the phone to Abbie. I'm calling from a pay phone in Orlando and I have zero time to dick around with you."

"First of all, I'm not giving her the phone unless you say please," Olivia began. "Second of all, just because you're going to be in 12th grade, does not mean you can talk to me that way."

"Olivia, give Abbie the damn phone, _now_," Serena insisted and Olivia started laughing hysterically.

"Okay, okay," she said and handed Abbie the phone after she pushed the speaker phone button.

"Want to hear the mushiest conversation of your life?" Olivia asked and Tiffany nodded.

"Hey, sexy," Abbie said from her spot on the bed.

"Have I ever told you how horny your voice makes me?" Serena asked.

"Baby, there's a 12-year-old present," Abbie warned. "Let's cool it. Besides, it's totally bogus to get me all worked up when we're like 1000 miles apart."

"I love you," Serena said.

"I love you, too," Abbie told her. "I get to see you in a week."

"What are you going to do for me?" Serena asked. "It's not everyday the love of your life turns 17."

"I wish you were turning 18," Abbie admitted. "That way your parents would stop looking at me like I was a child molester."

"They'll come around," Serena said. "It was a shock at first, but at least they accept us being a couple now. I love you, Abbie."

"What do you love about me?" Abbie asked.

"Everything," Serena said. "What do you love about me?"

"Everything," Abbie admitted. "You're my world."

"You're the greatest girlfriend in the world," Serena told her.

"No, you are," Abbie responded.

"No, you are," Serena said. "I'm so lucky to have you."

"I'm the lucky one," Abbie insisted.

"No, I am," Serena told her.

Tiffany and Olivia turned to each other and started making gagging noises.

"Shut up, Olivia. You were the exact same way with Alex," Serena reminded her.

"I think you should put a stronger emphasis on _were_," Olivia pointed out. "Alex and I are over."

"Because she had sex with Dana Miles?" Serena asked.

"Dana Miles?" Olivia repeated. "How do you even know this girl? _I_don't even know this girl."

"She's this hot 21-year-old," Serena said. "Black hair, blue eyes, a cute splash of freckles on her nose. Major babe."

"Alex had sex with her?" Olivia asked in disbelief. "All I did was kiss Jenny and she goes out and has sex with some 21-year-old? She doesn't even know this girl! Is that who Alex is becoming? Does the word soulmate mean nothing to her? I gave her my ring. I gave her my _heart._I was a virgin when I started dating that girl."

"Olivia, you were no type of virgin when you started dating Alex," Abbie reminded her.

"I was a _backdoor_virgin before I dated Alex," Olivia pointed out.

"Livya, no way!" Abbie said in disbelief. "That's the one thing I've never let Serena do to me."

"I gave that girl access to every single orifice on my body and this is how she treats me," Olivia told them. "This is bullshit. How did you find out, Serena?"

"Word travels fast," Serena said. "I know some girls at Princeton."

"Is one of them Dana?" Abbie asked.

"Yes," Serena admitted.

"Did you have sex with Dana too, babe?" Abbie asked.

"Before you get mad, I was 15, in the 10th grade, and it was before I even started crushing on you, baby," Serena told her girlfriend.

"Did Dana tell you?" Olivia asked.

"I'll just say she's not a very private girl," Serena informed her. "She's told so many people about what she did with Alex. She said Alex is easy and even though she's not a very good fuck she's going to continue to do her because she has a nice body and she's really tight."

Olivia was starting to feel sick to her stomach. "I don't care what she did, no one can talk about my Alex like that."

"She's not yours anymore, Livya," Abbie reminded her.

"She'll always be mine," Olivia told her. "Regardless of who we're with in the future; she'll always be mine and I'll always be hers."

"Do something about it, Liv," Serena urged her. "There's not much time. Dana is like Jenny. She gets under your skin. The only difference is Dana is amazing in bed. But she's a total manipulative bitch. I played her before she could play me, but she loves targeting younger girls or girls who have just broken up with their girlfriends and she charms the pants off of them, literally."

"I don't know what to do," Olivia admitted. "I can't compete with a 21-year-old."

"Alex is in love with you," Serena told her. "She's just hurt because you violated her trust when you made out with Jenny, but it's been a couple months and she's probably over it now. Call her, visit her, do something other than what you're doing, Olivia. You always said you'd protect Alex. Well, protect her now. Don't let anything happen to her."

"Okay," Olivia said softly, but Serena wasn't convinced.

"I gotta go," Serena said. "Olivia, don't bitch out. Abbie, I love you, babe."

"I love you, too, baby," Abbie told her and then Serena hung up.

"Are either of you tired?" Olivia asked after sitting in silence for a couple of minutes.

"No," Abbie told her.

"No way," Tiffany said.

"Do you feel like going on a road trip?" Olivia asked.

"I know what's going on," Abbie told her. "You have that look. That look that says you're up to no good…and I want in."

"Me, too," Tiffany agreed. "Where are we going?"

"Chocolate, Vanilla, pack your bags, because we are going to Princeton," Olivia announced. "I don't care what she did with Dana. I need this girl and a phone call isn't good enough."

Abbie, Olivia, and Tiffany packed some clothes and loaded up the car. They wanted to tell their parents but judging by the noises they heard coming from their bedroom, they feared what would happen if they knocked on the door.

"At least _someone_is getting laid," Abbie said. "I want to listen. I bet your mom is a total freak, Liv. She looks like she can take a dick almost as good as I can."

"Gross," Tiffany said.

"Yeah, right," Olivia told Abbie. "That's not what Trent said about you."

"Who cares what Trent said," Abbie told her. "Although, you're probably better than me. I mean, you can take it up the ass. Alex made you her bitch. When did this even happen, Livya?"

"Shut up," Olivia said, embarrassed. "We're not discussing that anymore."

"It's a long drive to Princeton," Tiffany told Olivia. "You know she's going to make you talk eventually."

Olivia sighed and then unlocked the car doors for Abbie and Tiffany. After they popped in a mix tape that Tiffany had made, the three of them were on their way to see Alex.


	4. Never Gonna Give You Up

**Dee Hensley: **I love comments that start with 'yay Serena!' Miss Southerlyn is a doll. haha someone had to get that girl off her ass. **AmIzZ EvAnGeLiNe: **Hmm...a showdown is a great idea! I'm not sure how to work that in yet, but Liv has to say or do SOMETHING. :) **kleberm: **I hope I didn't get keep you waiting for too long. :) **Sidle13: **Aww, I'm glad you love Tiffany. She and Olivia are going to become a lot closer during some upcoming family drama. **ttandme69: **Liv is sooo getting her girl. haha. I'd expect nothing less from her. Your comment really made me smile. **litafan82: **haha who has a stick in their ass? **Cmoni: **oh, she is definitely going to let her know. Those two will always belong to each other. :) **FrozenPurple: **Aww, thank you so much. I'm glad you're enjoying the sequel. **juicetroop82: **There's going to be two or three Princeton chapters so the two of them are definitely going to have a talk in one of those chapters. **peterpeter: **I hope this update came soon enough. Both of those girls messed up. haha. **lisa: **Thanks. You're amazing, amazing, amazing.

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><p><strong>AN: So, here's the first of two or three chapters about Liv's journey to see Alex. As always, I hope you enjoy it and thanks so much for the reviews.**

"Thanks for coming along," Olivia said to Abbie and Tiffany after they had been on the road for an hour.

"No problem," Tiffany told her. "Are you nervous?"

"Very," Olivia admitted. "Why do you think Abbie is driving instead of me?"

"You'll be okay," Tiffany told her.

"I hope so," Olivia said. "I'm just worried about going to her dorm and a half naked Dana answers her door."

"That's when you deck her," Tiffany said and made a punching motion. "Right in the face, Liv. You heard what Serena said about her. She's no good. If movies have taught us anything is that you have to fight for the love of your life."

"She's right," Abbie told Olivia.

"And if you don't want to deck her, I will," Tiffany added. "You're like, what—5'7"? 5'8"? I'm only five feet tall. I can do sneak attacks."

"She's like a little assassin," Abbie teased. "I love this kid."

Tiffany smiled at the two of them from the backseat. She tried to be nonchalant, but was having a hard time hiding her excitement. She had never been popular with her peers, but she was adored by the two girls whom she thought were the coolest girls in the world and, to top it off, they were college girls. Tiffany couldn't wait to tell her friends about her makeover and their road trip. She knew they were going to be jealous.

"What are you going to do if it's Alex who answers?" Tiffany asked.

"Something you're too young to know about," Olivia teased.

"No, but really what are you going to do?" Tiffany asked. "I bet it'll be romantic. You should take her some flowers."

"That's a great idea," Olivia told her. "I'll pick a single flower. One is more romantic than a dozen. When she opens the door, I'm going to pull her toward me and passionately kiss her lips. Then I'm going to give her the flower and hold her tight for as long as she'll let me."

"I love it," Abbie told her. "It's like something Serena and I would do."

"Not even," Olivia pointed out. "You and Serena would start having sex right then and there."

"You're so cruel," Abbie said to Olivia. "You know I haven't gotten laid in forever."

"Shut up, Abs," Olivia joked. "It's been like a week for you. It's been two whole months for me."

"What's it like?" Tiffany asked.

Olivia knew exactly what Tiffany was asking about, but she needed all the time she could get to gather her thoughts and come up with an answer. She wanted to be a cool older sister to Tiffany and she knew if she was going to do that, she would have to be comfortable answering Tiffany's questions, no matter what they were. She remembered herself at 12. She was girl crazy and all she thought about was seeing Alex naked. Olivia realized that it was six years later and she was still obsessed with seeing Alex naked. The only thing that changed was now at 18 she got to have much more than wet dreams about Alex. Olivia became lost in a daze and, lucky for her, Abbie decided to cut in.

"What's what like?" Abbie asked.

"Sex," Tiffany said. "What's it like?"

"Oh, it's amazing," Abbie said excitedly. "It's the greatest feeling imaginable."

"Abs!" Olivia said in disbelief. "Don't tell her that."

"What? I'm being honest," Abbie said in her defense.

"It's a really great feeling," Olivia began. "But only if you're ready and you're with someone who respects you."

"Olivia learned the hard way," Abbie told Tiffany.

"I'm going to tell you a story that I hope will help you," Olivia said. "I know you know Jenny. She hangs out with your older brother all the time."

"Yeah," Tiffany replied. "What about her?"

"Well, she was my first girlfriend," Olivia told her. "She's beautiful and she was the most popular girl in school so I felt so lucky when she asked me to be her girlfriend. We didn't even date, she just asked me to be her girlfriend out of the blue because she was that cocky and she knew I had a crush on her. We never did anything together other than party and round the bases. I found out when it was already too late, but what Jenny wanted wasn't a girlfriend; she wanted a girl to have sex with whenever she was in the mood. Here I was thinking she was in love with me but she really wasn't. At the beginning of our relationship, we made out all the time, but that wasn't enough for her. One day, when we were making out, she stopped and said, 'I love you, baby, do you love me?' She had told me she loved me and after hearing that I would have done anything for her. She started undressing me and when I told her to stop she said, 'Olivia, baby, if you really loved me, you would show me how much you love me.' It's cheesy, I know, but what she said had an effect on me. Then she said if I didn't have sex with her, she would find some other girl who would. I didn't want to lose my girlfriend so I gave in and lost my virginity to her right then and there. I felt like I was giving her this really special gift, but she didn't even appreciate it, Tiff, not at all. Having sex with her for the first time was one of the worst experiences of my life and to this day I regret not saving myself for someone who truly cared about me and respected me. She wouldn't even hold me afterward. It hurt so bad and I started bleeding."

"You bled?" Tiffany asked in disbelief. "Why?"

"She tore my hymen," Olivia told her. "It's this thin layer of skin inside your vag and it tears the first time you have sex. When it tears, you might bleed. You're not gushing blood, but it's still a bit."

"I think I'm going to pass out," Tiffany said. "This is too much for me."

"But sometimes sex can be a beautiful thing," Olivia told Tiffany. "Like, when I'm with Alex. And it's beautiful because Alex and I love each other and respect each other and we didn't force each other to do anything. We waited until we were both ready."

"So, the moral of the story is, I shouldn't have sex until I'm ready and with someone who respects my decisions, right?"

"Right," Olivia responded.

"Liv, I think you just had 'the talk' with Tiffany," Abbie told her.

"I think I just did," Olivia realized. "I don't see why parents think it's so hard. Well, my mom didn't have a problem giving me the talk, but I know other parents do."

"Another thing you should keep in mind, Tiff, is that it doesn't matter if you're gay or straight, relationships are all the same," Abbie began. "And it's important to only be with someone who likes you for more than your looks or what's in between your legs. Take me and Livya, for example. I know this sounds arrogant, but I'm going to be straight up with you. Livya and I are very attractive girls and we get hit on a lot, but that can be a problem. We both went for people who were totally hot, but they were so wrong for us. Olivia dated Jenny and I dated a guy named Trent. Neither of them cared about us. They were just with us because of what we looked like and what we did with them. There's lots of people out there who are like that and you're bound to run into a few, but they aren't all that way. There are some great boys out there who are going to like you for who you are and what you know and you'll find the right boy for you eventually and when you do he'll only have eyes for you. I know I've found the right girl for me and it's such an amazing feeling. I'm so happy every time I'm around Serena, regardless of where we are and what we're doing. I'm so in love with her and I hope you find that kind of love someday."

"And if a guy ever breaks your heart, Abbie and I going to break his face," Olivia added, which made Tiffany start to laugh.

"Thanks, guys. I love you," she told them.

"We love you, too" Olivia said.

When the girls found a parking lot near Alex's dorm, they started to devise a plan. Since it was a surprise, Abbie and Tiffany insisted that Olivia go to Alex's dorm alone. They knew that Alex and Olivia were going to want some time alone to get reacquainted after not seeing each other for two months. Abbie and Tiffany were going to hang out at an all-night coffee shop nearby until Olivia came to get them. Olivia promised it wouldn't be longer than half an hour, but Abbie and Tiffany didn't care. Olivia was a woman in love and they were willing to do anything to get her back with her girlfriend.

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><p>Olivia picked a single flower from outside Alex's building and started to gather her thoughts. She knew what she wanted to say to Alex, but she had no idea how to say it without crying. She began regretting this whole trip. What if Dana was there? She'd either be half-naked or in some sophisticated outfit. Olivia looked at her own ensemble. She was wearing jeans, Abbie's Nirvana shirt, and her letterman jacket. Her make-up was light. She had no lipstick whatsoever and her hair was in a sloppy ponytail. She knew she'd look like a child compared to Dana. Then she started to remember the advice Abbie gave Tiffany about being with someone who likes you for who you are and what you know instead of what you look like. With that in mind, Olivia walked into Alex's building, took the elevator up, and didn't even hesitate as she walked down the hall to her room.<p>

"I'll be right there," Alex called out as Olivia kept knocking. When Alex opened the door and saw Olivia standing there, she had no idea what to do. There was the love of her life standing there with a single flower in her hand. She had arrived unannounced, not knowing that Alex had spent the whole night looking at pictures of her and crying. She was in old sweatpants, a Princeton sweatshirt, and absolutely no make-up. It wasn't exactly how she had wanted to look the first time she saw Olivia, but she had a feeling that Olivia didn't mind.

"Hi," Olivia said softly, for lack of anything better to say to her in that moment. She had rehearsed everything she wanted to tell her, but no other words would come out.

Alex knew there were no words that could adequately express the way she felt in that moment. Instead of talking, she pulled Olivia inside, closed the door and pressed her lips to hers. Without breaking their kiss, Olivia wrapped her arms around Alex and held her as close as she could. The moment was almost too overwhelming for Alex. She broke their kiss and started to take in as much as she could about that moment with Olivia. She may have been thinner than she was when Alex had last seen her, but she still had that same sweet smell and the same strong, loving arms. She wasn't trying to look older or impress her. She was still that same Olivia she had fallen in love with. She still had her letterman jacket and ripped jeans. Most importantly, she had that smile that made Alex weak in the knees.

"I had a whole speech prepared," Olivia said. "But I can't remember any of it thanks to that kiss."

"I'm sorry," Alex said, even though she wasn't. "Is that flower for me?"

"Oh, yeah," Olivia said absentmindedly. "Here."

"It's beautiful," Alex told her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Olivia said. "Your nose looks a little red. Have you been crying?"

"Yes," Alex admitted. "But it's nothing. I'm just so glad you're here."

"It can't be nothing," Olivia insisted. "Tell me what's bothering you."

"I was looking at pictures of us from when we were a couple," Alex admitted and started crying again. "I miss those days. We were so innocent and so in love."

"Baby, don't cry," Olivia told her. "I'm still here for you and, I don't know about you but I'm still in love."

"You are?" Alex asked, hoping she had heard her correctly.

"Yes!" Olivia insisted. "I'm never giving you up."

"Oh, Liv, you're going to make me cry again," Alex said and started sniffling. "Why do you have to say things like that?"

"Because I know that's how I feel," Olivia teased. "And it makes you smile."

"Stop," Alex said even though she was starting to smile.

"No," Olivia insisted. She started to playfully tickle Alex the way she did when they were little girls and Alex laughed uncontrollably.

When Alex couldn't take it anymore, she pinned Olivia's hands to the wall and started to kiss her again.

"As much as I'm enjoying this," Olivia began. "Abbie and Tiffany are waiting at the coffee shop and I don't want to leave them there for very long."

"Baby, why didn't you say something?" Alex asked. "Let's go get them. Bree isn't coming home tonight so the four of us will be alone. They can have my bed and you and I can sleep in my sleeping bag on the floor."

"The sleeping bag that forces us to be so close that there's not even an inch between our bodies?" Olivia asked, hopefully.

"Oh, yeah," Alex told her. "And it gets warm at night so I might just sleep with no shirt on and your hands are going to have to go somewhere, preferably under my bra."

"Have I told you how much I love you?" Olivia asked.

"As much as I love you?" Alex responded.

Olivia then put her arm around Alex's waist and the two of them walked over to the coffee shop to join Abbie and Tiffany. Alex looked at the woman next to her and she couldn't believe this was really happening. Olivia was really there and she was still in love with her. Alex no longer cared about Jenny or Dana; she had Olivia and that's all that mattered.


	5. Linger

**juicetroop82: **Thanks for suggestions that they talk about the past two months. I kinda used that for this chapter. **Dee Hensley: **haha that was still more of a talk than I got. I think Olivia is really taking to her role as big sis. **AmIzZ EvAnGeLiNe: **Thanks. I'm glad you're liking Tiffany. **Lisa: **Sleeping bags are always fun. **FrozenPurple: **haha not sure how the sleeping bag scene would play out with little Tiffany there, but if they were alone it would be hot. :) **litafan82: **I wouldn't say they're back together just yet...**peterpeter: **Oh, there will definitely be some Jenny time. ;)

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><p>Abbie was thrilled to see Olivia walk into the coffee shop with her arm around Alex's waist. She had spent the past half an hour hanging out with Tiffany and sipping hot chocolate with her. They had a great time together, but she was glad that Alex and Olivia were there and things were back to normal. They could finally be the Cabenmichael family again. Well, the Cabenmichael family plus one 12-year-old girl.<p>

Abbie got up from her seat and ran over to her two best friends. Alex had expected a high-five, but Abbie ran over to her and tackled her to the ground.

"You _bitch!_" she told her loud enough for the other patrons to hear.

"What?" Alex asked, surprised and squirming underneath Abbie.

"I missed you so much," Abbie told her and then started laughing. "I got you. I so got you. You thought I was going to kick your ass."

"I missed you, too," Alex said when she was finally able to stand up and walk to the table.

"I'd kiss you if you didn't have syphilis," Abbie told her. "Lord knows who you've been sleeping with out here."

"Too soon," Olivia said, while trying not to laugh. "Too soon."

"Abbie, must I remind you of what we learned in 10th grade health class? When you have sex with someone, it's like also having sex with everyone they've had sex with before," Alex pointed out. "You've had sex with two notorious whores: Trent and Serena. Having sex with Trent means you've had sex with every girl at North High and South High and, well, having sex with Serena means you've had sex with every lesbian, bisexual, and bi-curious girl in New England."

"So that means Olivia—" Abbie began.

"Not in front of my little sister," Olivia warned. "Speaking of, I still have to introduce two of my favorite girls."

"So you're the love of Olivia's life and the one she dreams about every night?" Tiffany asked and Olivia tried not to be embarrassed.

"This is my Alex," Olivia told Tiffany.

"Hi, I'm Tiffany," she said to Alex. "I'm Olivia's stepsister. Well, I will be once my dad gets off his ass and asks Serena to marry him."

"It better be soon and she better say yes," Olivia told them. "I've never seen her this happy before."

"How about if we catch up tomorrow?" Abbie suggested. "I'm exhausted and it's way past Tiffany's bedtime. Plus, we should leave you two lovebirds alone. I know you have to make up for two months of lost time."

"Liv and I are okay," Alex told Abbie. "But if you guys are tired, you can take my bed. It's the one next to the pictures of Olivia."

"Surprise, surprise," Abbie said sarcastically.

"Want to get out of here?" Olivia asked once Abbie and Tiffany were gone.

"Let's go to my car," Alex suggested. "We can be alone there."

"I know what you're implying and I'm not ready for that," Olivia admitted. "The whole thing with Dana is still fresh in my mind."

"That's not what I was implying," Alex told her. "I just don't think we have enough privacy here and you and I have something extremely personal to talk about."

During their walk to her car, Alex and Olivia made no physical contact whatsoever. Their initial excitement had died down and they were starting to face reality. Olivia realized none of this would have happened had she not made out with Jenny. They still would have been a couple and they would actually be having fun with each other instead of walking to Alex's car to have a serious conversation. As Alex was walking, she began to wonder why she had sex with Dana. Sure, she is attractive, but so is Olivia. She could have had Olivia instead, but she chose to have sex with Dana. She started to feel petty and extremely childish. She realized the reason she had sex with Dana was because she wanted to make Olivia feel what she felt and she wanted to one-up her at the same time. It was solely for revenge, which made Alex feel even worse.

When they sat in the car, Alex started messing with the radio dials to break the ice. The first song she found was "Love Song" by The Cure. She had listened to it countless times since they broke up and each time she listened to it was more painful than the last.

"Leave it there," Olivia told her as she sank down in the passenger seat.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's almost over," Olivia pointed out. "If they're playing the Cure on this station, they're bound to play some other band I like."

"Pearl Jam," Alex said once The Cure song had ended and "Jeremy" began.

"Told you," Olivia said and finally started to smile. Seeing her smile finally put Alex at ease.

"How have you been?" she asked.

"I don't know," Olivia responded. "How have you been?"

"I don't know," Alex admitted. "There's been some okay moments."

"Like when you had sex with Dana?" Olivia asked.

"Or when you made out with Jenny?" Alex retorted.

"I deserved that," Olivia said softly.

"No, you didn't," Alex told her. "And you need to stop thinking that. Did you even want to make out with Jenny?"

"I don't know," Olivia admitted. "Not really."

"Then why did you do it?" Alex asked.

"Because she wanted to," Olivia told her. "And I was going through something. I don't know if you've realized it, but my life sucks lately."

"Everyone's life sucks at one point or another, but you have to deal with it," Alex pointed out.

"And you deal with things by hooking up with Dana," Olivia reminded her.

"It was revenge, just revenge," Alex insisted. "I wanted to show you that I'm different now. My whole life has revolved around you and I wanted to show you that it doesn't anymore. I wanted you to know that you're not the only one who can hook up and I wasn't going to spend the rest of my life crying over you and waiting for you to make a move."

"Your life doesn't revolve around me," Olivia said angrily.

"I've had feelings for you for 14 years, Olivia," Alex began. "Out of those 14 years, I spent five months as your girlfriend and during those five months, we broke up once and went through too much drama to name. I have spent the past two months crying over you. Two months crying over you in comparison to the five months I was with you."

"You broke up with _me_, remember?" Olivia pointed out.

"Because you made out with Jenny!" Alex continued. "So, five months as your girlfriend, two months crying over you, and 13 and a half years waiting for you to make a move. Since I was four years old, everything I've done has been for you. I wore my hair the way you liked it, I wore these glasses instead of getting contacts because you liked them and you never noticed anything. But do you even care?"

"Ye—" Olivia began to say until Alex interrupted her.

"Olivia, you and Casey liked me all throughout elementary school and I chose her. Do you want to know why?" Alex asked. She waited for Olivia to answer, but Olivia just sat in silence because she knew she was going to be interrupted again. "It's because you have no balls."

"Balls?" Olivia asked. "I think I'd look weird with them."

"You're just like Abbie. Everything is a fucking joke to you," Alex pointed out. "You claim that you've felt something for me all these years, but you never acted on it, Olivia. You told me when we were in the 6th grade you wanted to hold my hand while we were at the movies watching _Pretty__In__Pink._You didn't do it, Olivia. At your 12th birthday party, we snuck off to find a secluded spot because you said I looked pretty and you wanted to kiss me. Soon we were face-to-face and our lips almost met but then you pulled away. I would have let you kiss me, Olivia. I probably would have let you feel me up. Granted, I had barely started wearing a training bra back then, but that's beside the point."

"Did you ever think the reason I didn't kiss you back then is because I had just turned 12 and I was nervous about my first kiss?"

"Casey was 12 when she asked me to be her girlfriend," Alex pointed out. "That's another thing, Liv. You wanted to ask me out and she beat you to it, but you just backed down. If you loved me, why didn't you fight for me? Why didn't you prove that you wanted me more than she did? All of these years, Olivia. I wanted you for so long and then you finally make me yours and fuck everything up. I know our relationship moved fast once it began, but that's because we were so in love with each other. Instead of trying to enjoy that feeling with me, you take the easy way out and mess around with Jenny. I want you to want me, Olivia. I want you to fight for me. Sometimes, I just want you to take control and have your way with me. Be aggressive and forceful and put me in my place."

"Alex, think about the way I was conceived," Olivia reminded her. "Do you really think I want to be aggressive and force myself on you? Do you think I can do that to a woman?"

"Just do it," Alex insisted. "Claim me."

Olivia pulled Alex toward her and tried to kiss her, but she couldn't get herself to do it. Instead, she let go of Alex's sweatshirt and started to cry.

"I can't," Olivia told her. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Liv," Alex said. "I should be the one who's sorry."

"But you're right," Olivia agreed. "I need to fight for you. You're my girl and no one else's."

"I'm not ready to be your girlfriend again," Alex admitted.

"What?" Olivia asked, completely shocked. "I came all the way over here, I've agreed to start fighting for you, and this is what happens? What else do you want?"

"You came here because the girls convinced you and you're going to fight for me because I told you to," Alex pointed out. "I want you to do all of these things because you want to do them. When you're acting on your own free will and not because of your mom or Abbie or even Jenny and me told you to do something, that's when I'll be your girlfriend."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Olivia asked. "You're acting crazy, Alex."

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Alex said. "You were all I thought about for the past two months and then you show up and all of these issues start to surface and I don't know what to do."

"Love me," Olivia said. "That's what you can do."

"I do," Alex told her. "I don't know how it's possible but I both love and despise you right now."

"Thanks?" Olivia said, confused.

"You know what I mean, babe," Alex said. Olivia nodded even though she had no idea what the hell Alex was talking about.

Nothing had been resolved and Olivia still had no idea what exactly Alex wanted from her. She was grateful when Alex started yawning and suggested that they go inside.

Olivia took her clothes off and was about to change her pajamas when Alex stopped her.

"You don't need them," she whispered and motioned for Olivia to join her in the sleeping bag. When she was snuggled up next to Alex, Alex unhooked Olivia's bra and tossed it aside.

"What are you doing?" Olivia asked.

"I've been waiting two months to feel you," Alex admitted.

"We have to be really quiet," Olivia whispered in Alex's ear. Even though Alex promised to be quiet, it took less than two minutes for her to start moaning.

"There's a child in the room," Abbie said and started laughing.

"When I start having sex, I hope I'm a bit more discreet than you two," Tiffany said, which made Abbie laugh even more.

Alex rolled her eyes at them and got up to grab Olivia's pajama shirt. For the sake of Olivia's stepsister, Alex had her wear a shirt, but she wouldn't let her wear a bra. It had been two months since she had fallen asleep with her head on Olivia's chest and she wasn't going to let anyone take that away from her.

Alex fell asleep almost instantly, but Olivia stayed awake for hours with her arms around Alex. She thought about what had happened over the past few hours. Alex didn't want to be her girlfriend, but she still wanted to hook up with her. Olivia had been demoted to friends with benefits status and she had no idea what to do now.


	6. All Cried Out

The next morning after breakfast, the Cabenmichael girls and Tiffany went to the coffee shop because Abbie insisted on having hot chocolate even though it was the middle of August. They found a table for two and added another two chairs. Alex made it a point to sit next to Olivia even though she was no longer sure where they stood with each other after last night. Alex began looking around in hopes that she wouldn't see Dana and, so far, the coast was clear.

"How is Princeton life?" Abbie asked between sips of her hot chocolate.

"Life here has been phenomenal," Alex responded. "I love my classes, I love the campus, and the best part is that for the first time I have friends with similar interests."

Abbie and Olivia couldn't help but be a little hurt by Alex's statement. They had been like a family to each other and now they felt as if Alex was just discarding them.

"Similar interests?" Abbie asked. "You mean how the three of us are interested in _Hellraiser, _Metroid, sleepovers every Friday night, and making our delicious concoction of strawberry ice cream and random cereals?"

"Not exactly,"Alex told her. "I was talking about similar interests such as politics and books and enjoying activities like studying in the garden and sipping cappuccinos instead of sipping hot chocolate."

"Livya and I can be like that, too," Abbie said. She knew the hot chocolate comment was directed at her, but she continued to sip her hot chocolate regardless.

"We _could _be like that," Olivia began. "But we choose to _not _be boring."

"What have you two been doing?" Alex asked in hopes of changing the subject.

"Oh, you know, playing Barbies and hopscotch," Olivia said sarcastically. "We're not as mature and sophisticated as your new Princeton friends. And what's with that stupid blazer you're wearing?"

"It's not stupid," Alex said defensively. "It's from Ralph Lauren. Half the girls in my dorm have one just like it."

"I miss your old clothes," Olivia admitted. "I love you in t-shirts and jeans and the occasional pair of leggings."

"Well, I loved the way you looked without your nose ring," Alex pointed out. "Now, you look like every other slacker girl who has no idea what to do with her life."

"Sorry to interrupt," a girl with dark hair and blue eyes said when she approached the table. She was wearing a blazer similar to Alex's, a polo shirt, and some fitted jeans. Once she saw the tiny splash of freckles on her nose, Olivia thought about Serena's description of Dana. This was her. This was definitely her.

"You're not interrupting," Alex said. Olivia became furious when she noticed the two of them start to smile at each other. "Have a seat."

"I can only stay a little while," Dana insisted as she grabbed a chair and added it to their already crowded table. "Alexandra, I just wanted to invite you to a party my pre-law society is throwing next weekend. It should be a lovely evening and I wanted to ask you before anyone else does."

"I'd love to," Alex said excitedly.

"Great," Dana said and then turned to Abbie and Olivia. "I really don't mean to be rude. I'd invite you girls but this party is for club members and their 'plus one.'"

"No worries," Abbie said. "We don't go to this school. I go to University of Texas and Olivia goes to Hudson."

"Not that we'd go to a pre-law party anyway," Olivia insisted.

"Everything about it just screams douchebag," Abbie said jokingly, but she and Olivia were the only ones laughing.

Dana started glaring at them. "So, you're the famous Abbie and Olivia," she told them. "Alexandra talks about you all the time. She's so fond of her little high school friends, especially you Olivia. She thinks it's dear that you're so obsessed with her."

"You're in for it now," Tiffany told Dana.

Olivia knew she couldn't let Dana get away with this. She wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't form. Instead, she grabbed her full coffee cup and splashed it on Dana. It was all over her shirt and her blazer and some of it made its way on to Alex.

"This is dry-clean only, bitch," Dana said, but Olivia wasn't paying attention. She was now fuming and Abbie knew Dana was lucky that throwing her coffee was the only thing Olivia had done.

"I better go, Alexandra," Dana said to her. "Call me tonight."

Alex didn't say anything. She knew what Dana said was wrong, but she felt as if Abbie and Olivia had been instigating. She was even more torn apart when Olivia left the coffee shop a few minutes later.

"I need to get her," Alex said.

"No," Abbie and Tiffany said in unison.

"Let her cool off," Abbie insisted. "Nothing you say to her at this moment is going to make the situation any better."

"But I love her," Alex told them. "I swear I didn't say that about Olivia. That was all Dana. I would never say something behind Olivia's back. If anything, I'm the one obsessed with _her_."

"Olivia doesn't know that anymore," Abbie informed her. "She doesn't know where she stands with you and she feels like you're always insulting her."

"When she comes back, I'm going to set this whole thing straight," Alex insisted.

"Good luck," Abbie said. She now had little to no faith in Alex.

* * *

><p>Olivia found a somewhat secluded area near the quad and started crying. She tried to keep herself from crying, but she couldn't do it. The tears stared flowing down her cheeks and no matter how many times she wiped them from her face, it was only a matter of seconds before she felt her cheeks moist again. The more she thought about Alex, the more the tears started to flow. She couldn't believe anything that had happened to her over the past couple of days. All she wanted was to show up and make Alex hers, but it was going far from the way she had planned it.<p>

"Excuse me," a guy stopped and said, but Olivia ignored him. When he put his hand on her shoulder, she slapped it away and wanted to twist his arm.

"Get your hand off of me," she told him, still not looking up.

"I'm sorry," the guy said. "I just don't like it when girls cry because it's usually over a guy that doesn't deserve her. Is it your boyfriend?"

"I don't have a boyfriend," Olivia pointed out. "And it's not about a guy."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. "I can be a good listener."

"No offense, but why would I talk about it with you?" she asked. "I don't even know you."

"That's why you have nothing to lose," he joked and Olivia finally looked up and smiled.

"Thanks," Olivia said. "It's not often you see people reaching out to strangers."

"I'm a dying breed," the guy insisted. "My mom raised me right."

"So did mine," Olivia told him. "I'm Olivia Benson."

"Pleased to meet you, Olivia. The name's Logan Jennings."

"Are you a freshman?" Olivia asked.

"Is it that obvious?" Logan teased. He started smiling at her and Olivia felt a strange connection to him when he smiled. "How about you?"

"I'm a freshman, but I don't go here," Olivia informed him. "I go to Hudson. I'm just visiting a friend."

"She must not be a good friend if you're out here crying," Logan told her.

"It's a long story," Olivia said to change the subject.

"You look very familiar," Logan told her. "I feel like I know you from somewhere. I know this sounds weird, but you look so much like my grandma and you have her last name."

"What's your grandma's first name?" Olivia asked purely out of curiosity.

"Meredith," Logan said. "Meredith Benson. She lives in this small town in New York."

It was all starting to click for Olivia, but she wanted to be absolutely sure. "What's your mom's name?" she asked.

"Norma," he responded. "Why?"

"Does she have a sister named Serena?"

"Yeah," Logan responded. "I've never met her, but yeah. Why are you asking all of these questions."

"Serena is my mom," Olivia informed him.

"No freakin way," Logan said. "No way. You're bullshitting me."

"Why would I bullshit you?" Olivia asked. "This is so overwhelming. I've never met anyone I was actually related to."

"Well, I'm happy to be the first," Logan said. "I have a brother and a sister and my aunt Eleanor–I mean, our aunt Eleanor has two boys and two girls. Do you have any siblings?"

"No," Olivia told him. "It's just me and my mom. Well, I'm going to have a stepbrother and three stepsisters soon, but for the past 18 years it's just been me and my mom."

"Now you have seven cousins, too," Logan told her. "My mom and Aunt Eleanor talk about Serena all the time. They really miss her. Grandma and Grandpa miss her, too. They left all three of their daughters' rooms as they were before they left for college. Your mom's is the coolest. I can't explain it. You just have to see it. What are you doing next Saturday?"

"Nothing," Olivia responded. "Why?"

"We're having a small get together for Grandma that day at her house," Logan informed her. "You and your mom should come."

"I'd love to," Olivia said. "My mom wouldn't dream of it, though. She hasn't spoken to anyone in her family in years. I don't think she'd be ready to start now. In fact, she'd probably hate me for going. I probably shouldn't."

"You're 18-years-old," Logan told her. "If you want to meet your family, you should be able to. You're an adult now and it's your right to make that decision. Besides, I know our grandparents would love to meet you."

Grandparents? The word filled Olivia's mind with fantasies of what they must be like. She knew her mother had told her stories of an unfaithful husband who was never home and an abusive, alcoholic mother who never wanted her daughters to begin with, but Olivia didn't want to think about that. Instead, she pictured a loving grandpa who would talk to her about the glory days of the Yankees and a loving grandma who baked cookies for her grandkids.

"Okay, I'll go," Olivia said. Her grandparents still lived in the same neighborhood., so Olivia knew it would be easy for her to sneak over there for a couple of hours.

"Awesome," Logan said excitedly. He got a out a piece of paper and jotted something down. "I have to get started on a paper. Here's my phone number. Call me whenever you want and I'll give you more details about Saturday. I'm really glad I met you."

"I'm glad I met you, too," Olivia told him. She had forgotten all about everything that had happened with Alex. She just wanted to jump up and down and share her happiness with the world.

Olivia quickly made her way back to the coffee shop and over to their table. Abbie started laughing when she saw that Olivia had a huge smile on her face.

"What the hell happened to you out there?" Abbie asked. "You killed Dana, didn't you?"

Olivia didn't answer. Instead, she pulled Alex toward her by the lapels on her blazer and firmly pressed her lips to hers. "You're my girl and no one else's," Olivia said. "And don't you dare forget that."

"Yep, she killed her," Abbie said to Tiffany. Alex started blushing and kissed Olivia again. That kiss turned into another and another, each more forceful and aggressive than the last. After a few seconds, Abbie made sure to cover Tiffany's eyes.

"You're so sexy when you're aggressive," Alex told her. "I have to have you right now."

Olivia inched her lips closer to Alex's, making her think she was going to get another kiss. "I don't put out for girls who aren't my girlfriend," Olivia whispered.

"I'm yours," Alex told her. "All yours."

"When you're turned on," Olivia teased. "Look at you. I'm going to ask you to be mine again, but I'm not going to tell you when and it's going to be on my terms, not yours."

"I love you," Alex said, but Olivia just gave her a smug smile.

A few hours later, Abbie, Olivia, and Tiffany were on their way back to the beach house. Olivia honestly didn't know if she had accomplished anything with Alex, but she was glad she had taken a chance and gone to Princeton. Abbie was leaving in a few days and Olivia swore she was going to forget about Alex for awhile and spend time focusing on her best friend and her new family.


	7. Real Love

Abbie stood outside Olivia's driveway with Serena's gift in hand. She could have waited inside, but she was too nervous. Serena was due to pick her up any moment now for a birthday dinner at her house. It was Serena's 17th birthday and Abbie had wanted to take her out, but Serena insisted on inviting Abbie for dinner with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Southerlyn knew they were a couple and they recently began to accept it, but Abbie was afraid of how they'd act toward her now that they knew their daughter was moving to Texas. She had been dreading this evening, but it was the first time she had seen Serena in two weeks, so she wanted to make the most of it and at least _attempt _to impress her parents. Instead of her usual t-shirt and jeans, she opted for a sunflower print sundress, a white cardigan, flats, and Olivia's mom's pearl necklace. She hated the way she looked and she kept reminding herself that she was doing this for Serena.

Before Serena could fully pull into the driveway, Abbie made her way over to the car and got in as quickly as possible, so she could kiss her girlfriend. It was the longest she had gone without Serena and, although she had enjoyed her time with Olivia and Alex, she missed her Serena more than she was willing to admit. She had gone two weeks without seeing Serena and she hoped vacation was the last time they would ever be apart.

"You look beautiful," Serena told her after finally prying her lips away from Abbie's.

"So do you," Abbie responded. "In fact, I think you look a little too beautiful. I love the way you look in that red dress. I want to take it off of you tonight."

"I love you," Serena said and kissed her one more time. "And you can take this dress off of me tonight, but that's all you're going to do."

"That is the worst promise we have ever made," Abbie said. "What possessed us to give up sex until we have our place?"

"You're the one who wanted a second virginity," Serena pointed out. "You swore it would make sex even better if we both went without sex until we had our first night in our 'marital' bed. That way it would be like losing our virginity to each other on our wedding night."

"Was I drunk when I said that?" Abbie asked.

"No, which is why it was crazy," Serena responded. "Do you know what going without sex for two weeks does to me? And we still have another week to go. That's a total of three weeks. I've never gone without sex for more than a week since I was 14."

"Which is why everyone calls you a nymphomaniac," Abbie teased.

She started to smile when Abbie squeezed her hand. "I'm just glad I found a girl who could keep up with me. I love you so much and I'm so excited about our future together."

Serena pulled over on her block and started to kiss her girlfriend. Her parents were waiting for them, but Serena didn't care. Two weeks without Abbie was an eternity and she was going to go as far as she could with her without breaking their rule.

* * *

><p>Olivia sat at a booth across from Peter at a restaurant she had never been to before. She had wanted to go to Sticky's but he insisted it wasn't good enough for this special occasion. This was the first time they had spent time together without her mom and Olivia felt awkward at first. She was wearing a dress and trying to figure out what to order at a restaurant she had never been to. To add to the awkwardness, the host assumed Olivia was Peter's girlfriend.<p>

"I wish we would have gone to Sticky's," Olivia told him as she flipped through the menu. "I don't know what any of this stuff is."

"What do you like?" Peter asked. "I can help you choose something."

"I like normal things," Olivia said. "You know, burgers, fries, hot wings, pizza."

"There's pizza here," Peter told her. "It's margherita pizza, but it's still pizza."

"What is it?" Olivia asked, her nose starting to wrinkle.

"It's tomato, mozzarella, shredded parmesan, and basil," Peter informed her.

"Basil?" Olivia asked. "That's gross. Where's the pepperoni? If there's no pepperoni, it's not pizza."

"Nevermind," Peter said. "I'll just order you some spaghetti."

"With meatballs," Olivia insisted. "And shredded cheese on top. I won't eat it if there's no shredded cheese on top."

"You're worse than my girls and they're all under 13."

"Well," Olivia began. "If you love my mom, you're going to have to love me, too. We're a package deal."

Once their food arrived, Olivia began picking at her spaghetti. She knew Peter was trying to work up the nerve to tell her something and it was only a matter of time.

"Olivia, there is something I want to talk to you about," he began.

"What is it?" Olivia asked.

"I've been in love with your mom for a very long time," Peter told her.

"I know," Olivia said after she slurped up some of her spaghetti noodles. It was a very unladylike thing to do, but Olivia didn't care. That's how she ate spaghetti at home. She and Abbie would even have the occasional noodle slurping contest.

"Usually, a man asks a woman's father for permission," Peter began. "But you're the most important person in Serena's life and I feel as if it's only appropriate if I–"

"You want me to give you permission to marry my mom," Olivia interrupted.

"Yes," Peter said, completely relieved.

Olivia clasped her hands together and started to squeal. People in the next table were looking at her, but she didn't care. She went over to Peter's side of the booth and gave him a hug.

"You can marry her," Olivia said excitedly as she was still holding on to Peter.

Once he realized that Olivia wasn't going to let go, he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss on the top of her head.

"Great, now I have another daughter," Peter said jokingly. "That brings the grand total to four."

"You may have four daughters, but I only have _one_ dad," Olivia said and tried not to cry.

"Okay, kiddo, get over to your side," Peter said. "Your food is going to get cold."

"I'm too excited to eat," Olivia said when she was back on her side of the booth.

"You became skinny as a twig this summer. You need to eat something," Peter said. "I think I've already entered Dad mode with you and there's something I want you to know."

"What?"

"I know how you were conceived and even though that man was heartless, we aren't all like that," Peter told her. "I love your mom and I love you and I'd never do anything to break her heart. I promise I'm going to do right by the two of you."

"I know," Olivia said and started smiling even more. "But I have a few requests."

"Anything," Peter insisted.

"Can we go to Yankees games?" Olivia asked. "My mom hates baseball and so do my friends. I've never even been to a game before."

"Well, I just happen to hold season tickets," Peter told her. "All my kids hate baseball and I'd be thrilled to have someone to take other than one of my buddies who always ends up drunk by the third inning. Besides, it'll give your mom a break from me. Who's your favorite player?"

."Mattingly," Olivia said. "I've been following his career since I was a little girl."

"Then we'll get you a Mattingly jersey," Peter insisted.

"And a Yankees beanie?" Olivia asked. "I mean, it's only a matter of time before it gets cold."

"And a Yankees beanie," Peter told her.

"Rad, so how are you going to propose to her?" Olivia asked.

"I'm not the first man to propose to Serena," Peter informed her. "I'm probably the fifth and she has turned everyone down, so I have to make it special. She's coming over tonight and I was thinking of having a romantic evening and making it all about her and after we–"

"Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight," Olivia began. "You were going to propose to her after making love? That's what Walter did and she turned him down. Granted, she turned him down because she was 21, but still. It's a jinx. Don't do it. I have a better idea."

"What is it?" Peter asked. "I should just do what you say because you're probably going to shoot down all of my ideas."

"This is true," Olivia told him. "You should take her on a little tour of places that were important to you two when you were in high school and along the way you should reminisce. Have it end at the water tower because that's where I heard you two went with Olivia and Lorraine after senior prom. I know you kissed her quickly when you were both in 9th grade, but she told me prom night was when you were both caught up in the moment and you first _really_ kissed her. You should kiss her in that same spot and then open up to her about how you feel. Tell her how you've loved her since that first time you kissed her and how you're going to love her for the rest of your life. That's when you slip the ring on her finger."

"How did you come up with that?" Peter asked. "That's brilliant."

"That's how I always dreamed of proposing to Alex," Olivia admitted.

"I really shouldn't be flaunting my happiness in front of you when you're having problems with your girl," Peter told her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Olivia said. "And you're not flaunting anything. You're proposing to my mom and I know that she'll be so happy and say yes. That makes me happy, too."

Olivia spent the next hour finishing dinner and have dessert with her future dad. Although she was sad about Alex, she tried not to let that ruin her good time. Her mom was going to get proposed to tonight and Olivia was finally going to have someone to call Dad.

* * *

><p>Abbie carefully took a seat at the kitchen table of the Southerlyn house. She saw an array of forks and spoons in front of her and she had no idea what to use. She felt nervous, but Serena had told her to mimic her actions and that's exactly what she was going to do. Having dinner with Serena's parents was unusual for Abbie and she was glad when they had finished eating and cut the birthday cake.<p>

When everyone was finished, Serena's parents told Blaine and Serena to go to their rooms and Abbie knew her interrogation was about to begin.

"Have a seat, Abbie," Mr. Southerlyn said and Abbie carefully sat down on the living room sofa.

"We know you're in a serious relationship with our daughter," Mrs. Southerlyn began. "And we also know that no matter what we say, she's going to be with you."

"My wife and I were against the two of you being together at first, but I've noticed the progress you've made and how much you've grown up," Mr. Southerlyn told her. "You've become a responsible young woman with a good head on your shoulders."

"Thank you, sir," Abbie said nervously.

"There's no need to be nervous," Mr. Southerlyn told her. "We just have a couple of questions for you."

"Does Serena actually want to go to Texas with you?" Mrs. Southerlyn asked.

"She does," Abbie said confidently. "It's all we talk about. Serena is just as excited as I am."

"Where are you two going to live and where is she going to school?" Mr. Southerlyn asked. "I want to make sure she finishes her senior year and graduates. Not only that, but I want her to go to college."

"We're going to live in Austin, near my campus," Abbie informed him. "We'll be living in a studio apartment, but it's in a very nice area. My grandmother looked into it and signed the lease for us. She lives about ten miles from our apartment and she's only a phone call away if we need anything. She knows all about my relationship with Serena and she can't wait to meet her. There's some great high schools in Austin and we're going to register Serena as soon as we arrive."

"And what are you going to do for money?" Mrs. Southerlyn asked. "We're only giving Serena $1000 each month. No more."

A thousand dollars seemed like a fortune to Abbie, but she realized that Serena was accustomed to a completely different lifestyle.

"I'm going to get a job," Abbie responded. "It'll keep me focused and work experience will look great on my resume when I'm a postgrad."

Abbie started to feel as if someone else was answering these questions for her. She wasn't used to being mature and responsible or having all the answers, but she felt as if her love for Serena was bringing out that side of her.

"Do you promise to take care of my daughter?" Mrs. Southerlyn asked.

"I do," Abbie told her. "I am head over heels for Serena and I plan on spending the rest of my life with her. I don't mean to take her away, but we both feel as if this is the right thing for us to do. I know we're young, but we're looking forward to growing up together and we feel as if this move will bring us closer together as a couple. We've already bonded so much in such a short time and I know it can only get better. I'm going to make sure she's happy and she's loved every day of her life."

Mr. and Mrs. Southerlyn exchanged glances, which only made Abbie even more nervous than she already was. She had bared her soul to these people and she felt as if her fate was in their hands.

"I guess I should welcome you to the family," Mrs. Southerlyn told her.

"You mean you're okay with–" Abbie began, but Mr. Southerlyn interrupted her.

"You have our blessing," he said to Abbie. She wanted to run up to give them hugs, but she felt hugs were inappropriate in the Southerlyn household.

Instead, she thanked them and excused herself before leaving the room. She contained her excitement as she slowly walked up the stairs and down the hall to Serena's room, but all of that ended the moment she saw her girlfriend. They both started screaming and Serena tackled her onto the bed.

"I love you. I love you. I love you," Serena said and showered Abbie with kisses. "This is the best birthday gift I could ask for."


	8. Finally

That Saturday morning, Olivia woke up to an empty house. She took it as a good sign because Peter was supposed to propose the night before and if her mom had come back home, that would have meant she had refused yet another marriage proposal. Although Olivia was excited to meet her family, she was upset about Alex. She knew Dana's party was this weekend and Alex was probably going to have sex with her again. The thought of Alex with another girl made her want to cry, but she knew she just had to face the facts.

After a quick breakfast and a shower, Olivia went through her closet and chose a pair of shorts and a tank top. She planned on wearing light make-up and putting her hair in a ponytail. She knew she wasn't dressed to impress, but she felt as if they were really her family they'd love her regardless. When she had finished her bangs, she heard the doorbell start to ring.

"Mom! Did you forget your key?" Olivia shouted as she made her way over there. Whoever it was didn't respond, so Olivia decided to check the peephole. As soon as she saw who it was, she flung the door open as quickly as she could..

"Lex!" she said excitedly. "What are you doing here?"

"I decided to pay you a visit," Alex told her and they both just smiled at each other before Olivia took her hand and led her to the living room sofa.

"From New Jersey?" Olivia asked. "It's not like you're a five minute drive away like you were before. And what about Dana's party?"

"What _about _Dana's party?" Alex asked. "Dana isn't my priority and she's definitely not the girl I love. Even if we're not a couple, I'm still in love with you and I still want to be there for you."

"I love you," Olivia said and started to kiss Alex. As she tried to lay her down, Alex began squirming and gently pushing Olivia away.

"Babe, as much as I love making out with you, I really can't get my clothes wrinkled."

"Why?" Olivia asked.

"Because we are going to a _Benson _family gathering," Alex said. "It's for Meredith Benson, in particular."

"So?"

"So," Alex began. "Your grandmother prides herself on appearance. As much as your mom likes to deny it, she grew up the daughter of a Wall Street executive. Their house looks like it belongs in _Better Homes & Gardens. _They have three Ivy League alumnae daughters. Norma graduated from Princeton, Eleanor from Harvard, and your mom from Columbia. My mom told me that Meredith always told her girls that it's what's on the outside that counts. It doesn't matter if you have character because character is only for girls who aren't fortunate enough to be beautiful. She wanted perfection from herself, from her home, but especially from her girls. I'm telling you, the woman is intense and there's no way I'm letting you meet her alone. My mom is best friends with Norma, so I've seen your aunt and your grandma quite a bit. They've known me since I was a baby and if they see you show up with me, they'll go easier on you."

"Alex, you're scaring me," Olivia said.

"Good. Now, you have to change your clothes," Alex told her. "I'm not letting you show up in denim shorts and a tank top."

Alex and Olivia spent the next half an hour going through Olivia's closet before they finally found something. It was a baby blue dress that stopped just above her knee. Alex then removed the rubber band from Olivia's hair and let it hang in loose waves.

"You look beautiful," Alex told her. She was going to kiss her, but then she remembered she should try to avoid smudging Olivia's lipstick. On top of that, she could never just kiss Olivia once without wanting to kiss her for hours at a time.

"I love you," Olivia said to Alex when they were in her car.

"I love you, too," Alex responded and kissed Olivia's hand.

Alex had to give Olivia a pep talk before they got off of the car. She had been excited about meeting her family all week, but now that the moment was actually here, she felt as if she was betraying her mom.

"You're not betraying her," Alex insisted. "Your mom never forbade you to see your family. She just chose not to see them herself."

"But she doesn't know I'm here," Olivia pointed out.

"Olivia, 19 years is a very long time to go without seeing her parents and her sisters. Maybe if she finds out that you're making an effort, she'll make an effort as well."

"You obviously don't know her," Olivia said and sank down in the passenger seat. Alex got off the car, headed to Olivia's side and opened the door.

"Olivia Benson, if you don't get out of this car right now, I'll undo your seatbelt and drag you in that house," Alex said in a very stern tone of voice.

"I'm going to get out of the car," Olivia insisted. "Although, for entertainment's sake, I'm tempted to have you drag me."

"Babe," Alex groaned. She made her way up the entryway to the front door and rang the bell. She had assumed Olivia was right behind her, but when she turned around Olivia was standing in the driveway.

"Alexandra," Mrs. Benson said when she opened the door. "It's so good to see you."

"Happy birthday, Mrs. Benson," Alex said. "I'm sorry my mother couldn't attend, but I've brought someone I'd like you to meet."

"Olivia?" Alex called out and motioned for her to approach them.

"Oh my Lord," Mrs. Benson said when Olivia had finally made her way to the door. "Oh my Lord."

"This is Olivia," Alex said.

"Happy birthday, Mrs. Benson," Olivia said politely. "I'm pleased to meet you."

"None of this Mrs. Benson nonsense," she said and pulled Olivia in for a hug. "It's grandma to you, young lady."

"Okay...Grandma," Olivia said hesitantly. She noticed that her grandmother was crying, which made her start to tear up.

"I missed out on so many years with you," she told Olivia. "But I'm glad Serena is finally letting me see you. You were my first grandchild and it bothers me that Serena was stubborn for so long."

"She doesn't know I'm here," Olivia admitted.

"So you had to sneak over here?" Mrs. Benson asked and Olivia nodded. "You truly are Serena's daughter."

"It's something I take pride in," Olivia said.

"Come on, girls," Mrs. Benson told Olivia and Alex. "I need to make the rounds with my granddaughter."

When Olivia entered the house, she saw that it was everything she had expected and more. Alex was right, it did look like it belonged in a magazine. There was a vase of freshly cut flowers, a piano, and family photos on the walls. Three clusters of photos stood out to Olivia. Above each cluster was a framed embroidery of each of their daughter's names. Olivia made her way over to the cluster of photos labeled "Serena Lucille." She had never seen any of these photos before. In fact, she had never seen any photos of her mom before college that weren't yearbook photos or photos of her with Olivia and Lorraine.

"Is this her prom photo?" Olivia asked as she pointed to a picture of her mom in a formal dress with a young man who looked a lot like Peter.

"Senior prom," Mrs. Benson told her granddaughter. "She went with a young man named Peter Moretti. He used to live next door to us. He was in love with her but she always saw him as a friend."

"Not anymore," Olivia said and started smiling. "She's engaged to him now."

"Serena is engaged?" Mrs. Benson asked, surprised. "My daughter Serena?"

"As of last night," Olivia said matter-of-factly.

"You need to talk to that mother of yours," Mrs. Benson told her. "Every time I call her, she hangs up. It's the same thing when Norma and Eleanor try. I can't even call her and congratulate her on her engagement."

"I'll try," Olivia said. She'd have liked to say she would convince her mom to make amends, but she knew that was almost impossible.

Mrs. Benson led her over to the couch and handed Olivia a photo album. "It took me years to come to terms with how you were conceived and I regret every harsh comment I ever made to Serena," Mrs. Benson began. "And I can't even imagine how confused you must be about your roots so I made you this about a year ago in hopes that I'd someday be able to give it you. I want you to know that you're _our _girl, you're a Benson and only a Benson."

Olivia tried to fight the tears as her grandma gave her another hug. When she opened the photo album, she saw that the first photos dated back to the turn of the century.

"That's your great-great-grandmother as a young girl with her mother, your great-great-great grandmother Ellie," Mrs. Benson told her. "They lived in the Arizona before it even became a state. When I was a child, Ellie would tell me stories about the Old West and _real _cowboys. In the photo next to that one is your great-great-great-grandfather. He was a sheriff and he told me that he had met Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday"

"That's so cool!" Olivia said excitedly.

"Is this you?" Alex asked when she saw a picture of a young woman in the 1940s.

"That's me during my first year at Wellesley," Mrs. Benson responded.

"You look just like Olivia there," Alex said.

"Now you know where she gets her good looks from," Mrs. Benson told her. "I'll keep this on top of the coffee table so you won't forget to take it home with you. We should go to the dining room now so you can meet your grandpa and your aunts. All the kids are outside. I'll introduce you to them later, although I know you've already met Logan."

Olivia nervously followed her grandmother to the dining room with Alex in tow.

"There's someone I would like you all to meet," Mrs. Benson announced. "This is Olivia, my long lost granddaughter."

"Your long lost granddaughter?" Norma asked. "Do we have a sibling you didn't tell us about, Mother? I know she can't be Serena's daughter."

"Norma Jean!" Mrs. Benson said and shot her eldest daughter a dirty look.

"I was only teasing, Mother," Norma said in her own defense.

"I'm pleased to meet you," Norma said coldly to Olivia. "I wish I would have known more about you, but your mother insisted on never speaking to us again."

"Maybe she never wanted to speak to you because you called her a slut instead of believing that she was raped," Olivia suggested. "Ever think of that?"

Olivia expected a scolding, but everyone was too shocked to say anything, including Alex.

"Well, she's definitely Serena's daughter," Eleanor said and started smiling. "Come here, sweetheart."

Olivia did as she was told and her aunt Eleanor gave her a hug.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Olivia told her.

"Likewise," Eleanor said. "Where's my Sare Bear?"

"Who?" Olivia asked.

"My Serena," Eleanor told her. "She'll be here, won't she?"

"She wouldn't dare show her face here," Norma told her sister. Olivia looked at her aunt Norma in disgust. She couldn't believe a nice boy like Logan could come from _her_.

"She isn't coming," Olivia said.

"She will when she's ready," Eleanor told her sister. "And she just isn't ready yet."

"How do you know Alexandra?" Norma asked Olivia. "I'd imagine Serena wouldn't let you spend any time with Deborah's daughter."

"She's fine with it," Olivia said coldly. "And Alex and I don't just spend time together. She's my girlfriend."

"That's wonderful," Eleanor told Alex and Olivia. "I'm happy for you girls."

"Thank you," Alex said, still in shock.

"Thank you for attending, Olivia," Mr. Benson said. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the room."

And just like that, he had left. Olivia didn't get a hug or any type of acknowledgment other than that brief statement. She was starting to realize why her mom had stopped talking to her family all those years ago. She knew Eleanor still cared about her and Mrs. Benson seemed to have changed over the years but Mr. Benson and Norma were just as her mom had always described.

"We'll catch up later, sweetheart," Eleanor said to Olivia. "I'm sure you want to meet your cousins."

Olivia gave her Aunt Eleanor one more hug before going outside with her grandma. Her cousins all ranged in age from 8-18 and they all had so many questions for Olivia, especially the younger ones. Even though she was ecstatic, it was all so overwhelming. Up until last week, she thought she had no family whatsoever and now she was spending time outside with seven of her cousins. She was so grateful for Logan and the fact that he had convinced her to take a chance and meet her family. After everyone was acquainted, Alex and Logan sat down under the patio with the rest of the teens while Olivia joined her younger cousins in a game of freeze tag. Alex couldn't stop smiling when she saw Olivia running around with the kids. Olivia was having as much fun as the kids were and Alex started to think about how Olivia would be as a mom.

"Liv!" Logan shouted out. "I wanna show you something."

Olivia told the kids she'd be back and she left to follow Logan and Alex.

"Where are we going?" Olivia asked.

"Your mom's room," Logan responded. "You have to see it for yourself. It's like taking a time machine to 1970."

Olivia approached a closed door with a wooden peace sign on it. Above the peace sign was a paper that said "Serena's Lair" in pink lipstick.

"I'll leave you two alone for awhile," Logan said once he opened the door. "Alex told me you just became a couple again and I'm sure you want some time to talk. You can meet me in the backyard when you're ready."

"Thanks," Olivia said and gave him a hug. "For everything."

"This place is awesome," Alex said after they had shut the door behind them.

The girls looked around and saw a lava lamp, a bean bag chair, a daisy shaped rug and a canopy bed that was surrounded by beaded curtains. On the walls were pictures of Serena with Olivia and Lorraine and different quotes and phrases painted on her walls. "Keep on truckin'" was Alex's favorite even though she nor Olivia knew what it meant. Olivia liked "Smile on your brother" even though Alex thought it was kind of sexist. They both started laughing when they saw the sign above the doorway, leading out of the room, that said, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here..." On another side of the wall, scribbled in crayon were different messages from Olivia and Lorraine that the girls assumed were drunken messages. One said, "Sare, you're a tramp. No, really, you are. Love, Lorraine" and the other one said, "Fuck South High. NHS Class of '70 is fab. Love, Olivia, Your best friend that you love more than Lorraine because Lorraine loves Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds more than she loves us." Underneath that was a message written by Serena that said, "I love my two courtesans. So fab. Yowza."

"My goal in life is to someday be that drunk. That's quite an accomplishment," Alex teased and Olivia started smiling.

"I honestly don't think they were drunk," Olivia told her. "Those three were just weird."

Alex grabbed Olivia by the hand and lead her to the bed. The two of them opened the beaded curtains and Alex laid down on top of Olivia.

"I want to ask you something," Alex said.

"What?"

"Did you mean what you said in the dining room about me being your girlfriend?"

"Maybe," Olivia teased. She took her class ring off of her finger and slipped it on to Alex's.

"Babe," Alex said softly and started kissing Olivia. "This is real, right? I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"No, it's real," Olivia said as she began running her fingers through Alex's hair. "I want us to be a couple again. I love you, Alex, and I don't want us to ever be broken up again."

"I'm never going to do anything to hurt you again," Alex promised.

"Same here," Olivia told her. She reversed their positions so that Alex's body was beneath hers. Olivia started to unbutton Alex's blouse and place delicate kisses on her chest.

"I've been waiting forever to do this," Olivia admitted as Alex lifted up Olivia's dress and started feeling her already wet girlfriend.

"Aren't you afraid of wrinkling your clothes?" Olivia teased.

"Screw it. I can take them off," Alex said. "How often am I going to have sex with my girlfriend in a canopy bed surrounded by beaded curtains?"


	9. Every Heartbeat

**juicetroop82: **I'm glad they're back together, too. haha. I hope you enjoy this AO fluff. There will be lots more AO scenes in the future. :) **peterpeter: **haha they just couldn't wait. **litafan82: **yay I'm glad you liked the chapter! Here is the fluff I promised you. No more sad AO moments. **Dee Hensley: **Yeah, it's hard NOT to be in love with Alex. I'm glad you like Serena's family. Liv needed more people in her life. haha. **Sidle13: **I seriously considered making that happen, but these poor girls needed a little less drama. **Lisa: **Beaded curtains are always a plus. :)

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><p><strong>AN: Have a happy and safe Halloween everyone! I hope you enjoy the AO fluffiness and sweetness. Oh, and don't forget to eat lots of candy. **

When Alex looked at the clock on Olivia's night stand, she saw that it was already after 2. She had planned on spending the night with her parents, but all of that changed when Olivia had asked her to be her girlfriend yet again. She smiled at her Olivia who was still fast asleep in the middle of the afternoon. As much as Alex loved the innocent look on Olivia's face when she was asleep, she couldn't ignore the tingly feeling in the arm underneath her sleeping girlfriend.

"Olivia, baby," Alex said as she began to gently shake her girlfriend awake.

"What?" Olivia asked even though her eyes were still closed.

"You're on my arm," Alex told her as she struggled to remove her arm from underneath her girlfriend.

"Sorry," Olivia mumbled. The moment Alex freed her arm, Olivia pulled her closer and wrapped her arms around her.

"I missed this," Alex admitted.

"Yeah," Olivia said still half-asleep.

"Liv?"

"Liv sleep now."

"Liv sleep now?" Alex asked and started laughing. "Is Cavewoman Olivia back? I loved her last night."

"I thought you loved Wonder Woman Olivia," Olivia said as she was finally starting to wake up.

"Her, too," Alex said and kissed her girlfriend. "But I think Officer Benson was my favorite."

"Because she had you spread eagle on her car as she searched you?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah," Alex said and started blushing. "Officer Benson was so forceful."

"She was forceful because you were resisting arrest," Olivia said and kissed Alex.

"Remind me to resist every time I get arrested by her."

"You fell into her trap," Olivia teased. "She arrested you for solicitation. Alex Cabot arrested for solicitation?"

"How was I supposed to know she was undercover?" Alex asked and started smiling at her girlfriend. "As sexy as Officer Benson is, she's so corrupt. The only reason she let me go is because I did as she ordered and went down on her. She didn't even care that I had a girlfriend."

"She gladly returned the favor," Olivia said. "And I'm glad you said you had a girlfriend. I think my favorite was Stepford Wife Alex. She made me cupcakes wearing nothing but an apron. Finding a way to combine sex with cupcakes was brilliant. I was a _very _satisfied woman."

"I thought you liked Stripper Alex."

"I _loved _Stripper Alex," Olivia said. "I'm wet just thinking about her. I didn't know you could move your body like that."

"Neither did I," Alex admitted. "You bring out that side of me. Only you do."

"I love you," Olivia told her.

"I love you, too, Liv."

"Can you bring Stripper Alex back?" Olivia asked. "I could really go for a lap dance right now."

"No," Alex groaned. "No more sex for at least a few hours. We spent the entire evening, night, and morning having make-up sex. As weird as it sounds, I think I'm all orgasmed-out."

"I can't help having an active libido," Olivia admitted. "Especially when I'm naked and lying down with my gorgeous, naked girlfriend."

"We'll bring Stripper Alex back tonight," Alex said once she saw Olivia's sad eyes. "I want to see what it'll be like when she meets Officer Benson."

Without warning, Olivia rolled on top of Alex and started to kiss her. It didn't matter to her that they weren't going to have sex. At that moment, kissing was enough. She was exactly where she wanted to be with the woman she wanted to be with.

"Babe, what are you doing?" Alex asked.

"My side of the bed is soaked so I had to roll over to yours," Olivia teased.

"My side is just as soaked," Alex admitted. "We're washing your sheets tonight. The two of us aren't going to be like Serena and say 'I love sleeping in my girlfriend's cum.'"

"But I do love sleeping in my girlfriend's cum," Olivia said and smiled at Alex.

"So do I," Alex groaned. "We've officially become as bad as Serena."

"I'd actually say we're worse," Olivia said. "Serena and Abbie are on a second-virginity kick."

"A couple weeks doesn't count as a second virginity," Alex told her and started laughing.

"A couple weeks is nothing to normal people, but a couple of weeks for Abbie and Serena is like an eternity. Abbie has been really irritable and Serena has started biting her nails. Be glad you aren't around anymore."

"I wish I were," Alex said. "I miss our little Cabenmichael family and the occasional double date or even triple date. Mostly, I just miss seeing you everyday."

"We have to look on the bright side," Olivia told her. "Now we finally have a chance to miss each other."

"I miss you even when we're in the same room," Alex admitted. "If I don't have some type of physical contact with you at all times, I start to lose my mind."

"Yes, Serena," Olivia teased and Alex playfully smacked her arm.

"Let's take a shower," Alex suggested. "It's already 3 in the afternoon."

Olivia began to perk up, but that feeling didn't last long. The shower she had pictured was nowhere near what Alex had in mind. Alex actually wanted to take a shower with her instead of just making out under the running water. Regardless, Olivia was still ecstatic about seeing Alex naked for an even longer period of time. Something about showering together brought out the playfulness in them and they felt as if they were showering together like they did after having a mud fight when they were six years old instead of showering together like an adult couple.

They competed over who could get their body the soapiest and who could lather the most shampoo in their hair. When they were finished, Olivia removed the showerhead and started playfully spraying Alex.

"Assume the position," she said. "It's time to rinse you off."

"Your turn," Alex said when Olivia was finished rinsing her off.

"I love having a squeaky clean girlfriend," Olivia said and playfully kissed Alex.

"Me, too," Alex told her. "But we still have the mouthwash competition left."

"Winner gets to lotion the loser's body," Olivia suggested even though that would mean there really were no losers in that game. Olivia saw no downside in Alex rubbing lotion all over her body or getting to rub lotion all over Alex's body.

"Deal," Alex said. After brushing their teeth, they each swished a capful of mouthwash in their mouths until they couldn't take it anymore. Alex spit hers out first and Olivia became ecstatic.

"Give me the lotion," she said. "I'm going to take my time with this."

Olivia pumped some lotion on to her hand and started to rub it on Alex's back She then reached around and began rubbing some on Alex's breasts. Although she was supposed to be lotioning Alex's entire body, she couldn't help spend the most time on her favorite spot.

"Olivia?"

"Yeah?"

"I think my breasts have enough lotion on them."

Olivia started smiling. "But I touch them so much and you know that probably makes them dry."

"This is taking too long," Alex said even though she was enjoying every second of it. "What if we just lotion ourselves and put our pajamas on so we can start cuddling again?"

"Okay," Olivia said reluctantly. "But you rubbing lotion on your body will probably turn me on even more."

"Olivia!"

"I'm just being honest," Olivia said. Once Alex saw Olivia start to blush, she pressed her body against hers and started to kiss her.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you, too," Olivia told her. "But this is making it worse."

"I'm sorry," Alex said. "I can't help it. You just smell so good and I don't want to let you go. I went so long without holding you and, now that I get to hold you again, I plan on never letting you go."

"Not even for a body spray fight?" Olivia asked and Alex started laughing. She let go of Olivia and grabbed two bottles of body spray from the medicine cabinet. She kept the cotton candy scent for herself because she loved the way it smelled on Olivia and she handed the strawberry scent to Olivia. The two of them ran around the house, spraying each other until Olivia grabbed Alex and started spraying her all over.

"Okay, okay, I surrender," Alex said.

"You always do," Olivia told her and finally let go of Alex. Instead of surrendering, Alex grabbed Olivia and started spraying her.

"You're so easy," Alex teased. She had control of Olivia for only ten seconds before she freed herself from her arms and wrestled her to the ground.

"Now who's easy?" Olivia asked as she started to kiss Alex.

"As much as I love this position, I think we need to get dressed," Alex told her. "We've been naked for almost 20 hours."

"I see no problem with that," Olivia said as Alex was smiling at her. "I'd be naked with you for another 20 hours."

"I'd be naked with you for another 20 years," Alex said as she put her arms around Olivia and looked into her dark eyes.

"I'd be naked with you for another 40 years," Olivia said to one-up her.

"How about if I bring back Stepford Wife Alex?" she asked. "I know all that lovemaking made you work up an appetite. Stepford Wife Alex is going to cook you something for dinner. I'm going to be wearing pajamas, but still, I want you to relax and I'll take care of everything."

"But you're my guest, I'll make you something," Olivia insisted.

"No," Alex told her. "I love spoiling my woman and I'm going to do that every chance I get for the rest of our lives."

"Lex?"

"Yeah?"

"Neither of us know how to cook," Olivia reminded her.

"There's Kraft mac 'n cheese in the cupboard," Alex said. "And the pasta is dinosaur-shaped, which is even better."

"You're so perfect for me," Olivia told her and kissed Alex one last time. "You always have been."

"It just took us forever to realize that," Alex said. "But I'm glad we finally did."

Alex and Olivia quickly dressed into their pajamas and went their separate ways. Alex was in charge of making dinner while Olivia was in charge of finding a movie for them to watch while they ate. As they were eating and watching _The Goonies_, Alex began to wonder if this is what it would be like to have a place with Olivia. She loved waking up next to her, showering with her, and relaxing with dinner and a movie in the living room.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you make the best macaroni and cheese in the world?" Olivia asked and then shoveled more of the dinosaur-shaped pasta into her mouth.

"Just you," Alex said. "You're the only one who compliments me."

"Everyone should compliment you," Olivia told her. "You're perfect."

"All that matters is that you think so," Alex said and squeezed Olivia's hand.

Alex had planned on going back home that night, but they were having a thunderstorm and she didn't feel like driving all the way back to New Jersey. She didn't mind missing class tomorrow if it meant she'd get a whole day to play house with Olivia while her mom was with Peter. Thunder usually scared her, but she felt safe in Olivia's arms.

Once they were finished eating and the dishes were washed, Alex cuddled up to Olivia and finished watching the movie. They had a whole movie marathon prepared, but the storm had other plans for them. They experienced their first blackout together and with no TV or other distractions, Olivia lit some candles in the living room and spent the next hour kissing Alex and holding her tight.


	10. Together Forever

**juicetroop82: **They'll have a talk about Jenny and Dana but not until Olivia is in her new apartment. :) **peterpeter: **The Goonies is an awesome movie! You have good taste. **Dee Hensley: **I'm glad you loved the games. I would love to play those games with Olivia. ;) **litafan82: **You know you're the reason I had to make them happy and cuddly. haha. **lisa; **I'll give you Stripper Alex for Christmas. :) **Sidle13: **Aww, I'm happy for them too. It was time for them to have some happiness after 9 chapters of torture. haha. **kleberm: **No more snobby Alex...for now. :D

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><p>Alex glanced at her watch and realized that she and Olivia had been kissing on the couch for over an hour. She had always hated blackouts, but being with Olivia was making the whole experience worthwhile. Before they started making out, they swore they weren't going to take each other's clothes off. It had been awhile since they had just kissed each other instead of treating kissing as foreplay. Olivia had suggested playing a game in which they'd take turns choosing different ways to kiss each other. So far, Alex's favorite kiss was when Olivia gently bit her bottom lip.<p>

"I love you," Alex told her after they had finally stopped kissing.

"I love you, too," Olivia said and brushed a couple of loose strands of hair behind Alex's ear.

"I didn't think this could be so _sexy_."

"What's sexy?" Olivia asked.

"Kissing," Alex said and started smiling. "Not just kissing, but kissing you by candlelight during a blackout. It's sexy. It's romantic. It's..."

"It's getting me worked up," Olivia added.

"Me, too," Alex admitted. She undid the front clasp of Olivia's bra and started to gently suck on her nipple.

"I love when you do that," Olivia said as she started running her fingers down Alex's back.

"Liv?"

"Yeah?"

"I never thought I'd say this, but that nose ring is a turn on. You look hot with it."

"You'd look hot with a piercing, too," Olivia told her.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, maybe a clit ring."

"No way!" Alex said and started laughing. "That would hurt."

"I know," Olivia told her. "I'd never want anyone to hurt her."

"Her?" Alex asked. "You're personifying my clitoris?"

"Personifying her? Alex, I've _named _her. She likes being called Lextasy and she _loves _when I tongue kiss her and give her massages."

"I think Lextasy wants you to tongue kiss her right now."

"I'd love to," Olivia said.

"Livya!" the girls heard a voice scream from outside. "Livya! Hurry! He's after me! He's got a knife!"

Olivia jumped off the couch and ran as fast as she could to the front door. Her heart was pounding faster than ever, but she knew there was no time to be afraid. She had to act as quickly as she could and open the door for Abbie. Olivia hastily turned the knob and pulled Abbie inside.

"Alex, call 911," Olivia commanded, but Abbie grabbed her arm and started laughing hysterically.

"I got you," she said as she laughed so hard that she sank to the ground and brought Olivia down with her. "There's no knife wielding maniac out there."

"You bitch," Olivia said and started laughing along with Abbie.

"Abbie, what the hell?" Alex asked as she joined them on the living room carpet.

"It's my last night here," Abbie pointed out. "Did you really expect me to just knock on the door like a normal person?"

"Did you _ever _just knock on the door like a normal person?" Alex asked. She began cuddling up to Abbie and kissing her on the cheek.

"I don't want to be reminded that you're leaving tomorrow," Olivia told Abbie.

"But I am," Abbie said. "So, let's not mess up this night with crying or turn it into–"

"A hippie love-in," Alex said, finishing Abbie's sentence.

"How did you know I was going to say that?" Abbie asked.

"Because we've known you for 9 years now," Olivia reminded her.

"Then let's do what we've done for the past 9 years and have a Cabenmichael sleepover," Abbie suggested."Complete with _Hellraiser_, Metroid, and lots of ice cream"

"Sounds nice," Alex began. "But there's no electricity, remember?"

"Stupid storm," Abbie said. "The rain stopped, but the thunder and lightning is still crazy."

"How did you even get here?" Olivia asked.

"My mother-in-law dropped me off," Abbie responded.

"Your mother-in-law?" Alex asked.

"Oh, yeah. Serena's mom _loves _me now," Abbie informed them. "She doesn't love that I have sex with her underage daughter, but I gave her some spiel about how it's important for Serena to have a healthy attitude toward sex."

"You're a horrible person," Olivia told her and started shaking her head.

"Pretty much," Abbie said. "You girls do know that blackouts mean the freezer will stop being cold which means we should eat the ice cream right now."

Olivia grabbed a carton of strawberry ice cream and three spoons. Seeing as the three of them were so close, she felt as if there were no need for bowls. Olivia had, at one point or another, made out with both Alex and Abbie.

"What were you two doing before I got here?" Abbie asked as they were eating ice cream by candlelight.

"Kissing," Alex said matter-of-factly.

"Babe, I have an idea for another kiss next time we play our game," Olivia said excitedly. "How about if you keep some ice cream on your tongue and I maneuver it into my mouth using nothing but my tongue?"

"Damn, you're sexy," Alex said and started kissing Olivia.

"You are," Olivia said in between kisses.

"You both are," Abbie said and got in between their kiss.

"We haven't had a three-way kiss in forever," Alex said. "I miss those."

"Me, too," Abbie admitted. "Olivia?"

"Yeah?"

"Something is bothering me," Abbie said.

"What?"

"If the power is out, how were you going to call 911 if there really was a knife-wielding maniac after me? The only phone in this house is cordless," Abbie reminded her.

"...Oh..." Olivia said hesitantly.

"Not the brightest bulb, are you, Benson?" Abbie teased.

"Olivia wouldn't need to call 911," Alex insisted. "She could take on any knife-wielding maniac."

"To protect my best friend and the woman I love, definitely," Olivia said.

"Where's Rena Bena?" Alex asked.

"She's with Casey and Connie," Abbie responded. "They think because they're seniors now, they're so much cooler and they don't need us anymore."

"Good," Olivia said. "We don't need the class of 1993 invading our sleepovers."

"True dat," Abbie said. "Serena is where she belongs, you know?"

"I wouldn't go that far," Alex told her. "Serena belongs with you more than anyone else. If she were here, Liv and I would be okay with it."

"I know," Abbie said. "I just feel selfish and I'm trying not to think about it, but I can't help it."

"Think about what?" Alex asked.

"About Serena," Abbie responded. "She's been with_ a lot _of girls, but I'm her first girlfriend and the first to love her. She's my first, too, and even though I'm her first what if I'm not the last to love her?"

"Abbie, that's absurd," Alex told her. "You two are the most stable couple I've ever met."

"I just keep thinking what if Serena is meant to be with someone else," Abbie confessed. "Someone with her upbringing. Someone like the girls Alex goes to school with. I mean, look at my life. My mom and stepdad disowned me and my biological father won't even write me back. Serena comes from this blue blood upbringing, she gets everything she wants, and I'm expecting her to move to Texas with me at age 17. Serena can have any girl she wants. She's already had almost every girl she wants. It's her senior year, she shouldn't be transferring to a school in a different state. She should be hanging out with Casey and Connie and applying to Yale. What if I'm just holding her back?"

"You're not holding her back," Alex insisted. "Yeah, Serena can have any girl she wants, but so can you."

"And you two chose each other," Olivia added. "I've seen the way Serena cuddles up to you. It's like she looks to you for love and protection. That girl adores you."

"Despite your bullshit," Alex teased.

"How do you know that going with you isn't what's best for Serena?" Olivia asked. "Serena isn't bothered by the fact that your parents disowned you or that you don't come from some rich upbringing. All Serena cares about is that she gets to be with you. That girl would follow you to the moon and back. You two are so good for each other."

"I know," Abbie said softly. "Thanks. Can we talk about something else?"

"We were watching _the Goonies_ before you got here," Alex told her. "And Chunk still makes us think of you, especially the part when he is confessing everything he has ever done."

The three of them started laughing hysterically. "I've done some horrible things in my life," Abbie said as she tried to calm down. "Remember when I put Fuzzy Wuzzy, my pet tarantula, on Addie's face when she was sleeping."

"That thing scared the hell out of me," Alex said. "I refused to spend the night at your house until after he was gone."

"I loved Fuzzy Wuzzy," Olivia said. "Me, Abbie, and Fuzzy Wuzzy went on so many adventures together."

"Until Addie killed him when we were 10," Abbie told them. "Livya and I buried him in the backyard and we didn't stop crying for a week."

"While we're on the subject of Addie," Olivia began. "Remember the time my mom and Mrs. Carmichael took us trick-or-treating when we were in the 4th grad?. The three of us were so upset that we had a kindergartner hanging around with us."

"She ruined our theme," Alex said. "She insisted on dressing like a beauty queen when we were all horror movie characters. Abbie, you were Regan from the _Exorcist_. I was the girl from _Poltergeist_, and Liv, you were Freddy Krueger. Beauty queens just did not fit in with that."

"I was laughing hysterically when Livya made Addie cry when she chased her down the street," Abbie said. "That was the funniest thing ever."

"We got so much candy that night because of Alex," Abbie recalled.

"I think I had an even bigger crush on Alex because of that night," Olivia said. "Instead of trick-or-treat, she said 'They're here' like the little girl on _Poltergeist. _But she had perfected it. It was brilliant. And she looked so much like that little girl."

"That movie messed up Livya," Abbie said.

"Because my mom traumatized me," Olivia said in her defense. "The movie itself wasn't scary, but when I asked why that little girl got sucked into her closet, my mom told me it was because she didn't pick up her toys."

"Have you noticed that it's been almost ten years and Olivia still obsessively cleans her room?" Alex asked. "She's still afraid of that happening to her. It's so cute."

"My mom has a very unconventional way of parenting," Olivia said. "I've begun to realize that and all it took was 18 years."

"I love your mom," Abbie said.

"Yeah, so do I," Olivia told her.

"No, I _love _your mom,"Abbie repeated. "Just give me two hours in bed with her and I bet I could make her gay."

"Gross!" Olivia told her. "Abbie!"

"Babe, don't act like you're above Abbie's level," Alex insisted. "You know you'd do the same to Mrs. Carmichael."

"Never," Olivia said innocently even though she knew it was a lie.

"Where _is _your mom?" Abbie asked.

"With Peter," Olivia said sarcastically. "Like always. They're busy working on wedding plans."

"Or fucking," Abbie told her. "I mean, it's a blackout. What else are you going to do?"

"Please don't say that," Olivia insisted. "I keep having these nightmares that Peter is going to get her pregnant and she is going to love this baby more than she loves me because of the way I was conceived in comparison to how this baby was conceived."

"Olivia, chill," Abbie said and started hugging her. "There's no baby."

"But she should be with _me _this coming week, not him," Olivia insisted. "I'm moving out next week and I won't be living with her anymore. You think she'd be as sad as I am, but she's not. She spends every waking moment with Peter even though we should be having mother/daughter week."

"Liv, you two are going to see each other almost every day," Abbie pointed out. "You're even taking her class."

"And she is probably just trying to hide how broken up she is feeling about you moving out," Alex told her. "If she starts crying, that'll just make it harder on you and she knows that you have to grow up eventually."

"I hate when you two try to rationalize things," Olivia told them.

"We do it because we love you," Alex said.

"I don't want this night to end," Abbie admitted. "Even though we're just sitting around in the dark, I'm having the time of my life. You two are the only people I can do this with. I'm not going to have that when I get to Texas. A part of me wishes I would have just applied to Hudson with Olivia and the two of us could have dormed it. Then, Alex could come over and spend the night every weekend and it would be just like old times. Why did we have to grow up, you know?"

"To be honest, I wish we could just live high school over and over again," Olivia told them. "We had our ups and downs, but at least we still had each other."

"We'll always have each other," Alex insisted. "We're going to have different lives in college and everything is going to change, but I think we should make a pact."

"A pact to be there for each other no matter what," Olivia suggested. "And I do mean no matter what."

"Forever," Alex added.

"And ever," Abbie said.

"Times infinity," Olivia added.

"Okay, we can stop now," Alex said and Abbie started laughing.

"I have an idea," Olivia said excitedly. "Wait right here."

"As opposed to where?" Abbie teased, but Olivia wasn't paying attention. She had already left to her room. She came back five minutes later, carrying two light sabers.

"I know where this is going," Alex said. "You two are going to have light saber wars, aren't we?"

"Do you even have to ask that?" Abbie told her.

"Is there anything more fun in a blackout? I think not," Olivia said. "As always, I'm going to be a Jedi Master and Abbie is a Sith Lord."

"I finally get to resurrect Darth Abbie," Abbie said excitedly.

"You two are even nerdier than ever," Alex said as she prepared to watch the epic battle that was about to unfold. She was mostly in it for the fact that Abbie and Olivia were probably going to trip over something eventually.

Abbie and Olivia spent the next hour having light saber battles until the power came back on. The rest of the night was spent watching _Hellraiser_, playing Metroid, and looking at junior high and high school yearbooks. Both Abbie and Alex had to leave the next day, but they stayed up all night trying to avoid the inevitable. At that time tomorrow night, Abbie would already be in Texas and it would be months before they finally saw her again.


	11. Enjoy The Silence

**A/N: As always, thanks for the reviews and I'm so sorry that it's been taking me so long to update.**

In a quiet little suburb of New York, Olivia laid down on her bed and started crying. Earlier that day, her mom had driven her, Alex, and Abbie to the airport. They had wanted Serena to join them but Mr. and Mrs. Southerlyn had insisted on driving their daughter to the airport themselves. During the drive over there, they tried to take their mind off of the situation by telling childhood stories and annoying Olivia's mom with their off-key singing along to random hip hop songs. It worked for awhile, but the reality had set in for them before they were even close to the airport. Olivia knew it was going to happen eventually, but she still dreaded the day Abbie would move to Texas. Olivia knew Abbie would have a new life there, maybe even a better life. She imagined Abbie having a stereotypical college life complete with sorority sisters, frat parties, and lots of binge drinking. Or maybe she would have Alex's college life and sip coffee with girls who thought they were better than everyone else. Then she realized that neither of those described what Abbie's life would be like. She knew Abbie was a square peg just like she was. The two of them never really fit in with anyone, which is why they got along so well. The popular girls would recruit them, but they weren't into partying. They were both jocks, but they didn't live and breathe for their sports like other people did. They both got good grades, but they weren't exactly nerds. Abbie and Olivia preferred hanging out with each other and with Alex and they didn't care what anyone else thought. Olivia knew Abbie was going to make friends, but none of them would become her best friend. She kept telling herself that she wasn't going to be replaced, just like she kept telling herself that she wasn't going to replace Abbie. She then thought about how Abbie was going to be living with Serena and sharing a bed with her every night. She'd practically be married. Olivia wanted that with Alex, but she knew it would be years before they could have a place together and that's if they even decided on what state they wanted to live in.

Abbie and Olivia didn't cry when they said goodbye at the airport, but they hugged each other until someone announced the final boarding call for Abbie and Serena's flight. Alex had tried to comfort her, but Olivia refused to let her. Instead, she stared out the window as Abbie's plane took off and she stayed there for nearly 20 minutes afterward. She would have stared out that same window even longer if her mom hadn't led her to the nearby seating area.

"She's gone," Olivia said and finally broke down.

That was hours ago and Olivia still hadn't stopped crying. Her day had been one heartache after another. She had wanted to spend time with Alex, but she knew Alex had a long drive ahead of her and she'd have to leave the moment they got back from the airport.

After seeing what a wreck her daughter was, Olivia's mom offered to spend the rest of the day with her, but Olivia insisted on being alone. She looked at the guest room that had been Abbie's for the past three months and saw that it was just as it had been before Abbie had lived there. Her clothes were gone, her University of Texas memorabilia was gone, and her Chucky doll was no longer sitting on the bed. Olivia knew Abbie would be staying there again during Winter Break, but that was still three and a half months away. She'd no longer get to play video games with Abbie until six in the morning or fall asleep underneath her on the living room couch while watching TV shows they didn't particularly care for.

Before Abbie left, she handed Olivia a folded up piece of paper and told her not to open it until she was alone. "It's like our intimate moment," she said and started laughing. Remembering that line made Olivia start laughing all over again. Even though she had read that letter over 10 times, she decided to take it out of her purse and read it all over again.

_Dear Olive,_

_If you're reading this, that means I'm on a plane to Texas. Unless you're reading it again hours later, which you probably are because you've become sentimental in your old age. Then again, so have I if I'm writing this to you. I wanted to start it out like one of those living wills in which the person says "If you're watching this, that means I'm already dead." I just thought it was funny, but Serena would probably smack me on the arm and tell me I was jinxing myself. Then she would be upset because if I jinxed myself that would mean she'd die too since we're on the same plane. Okay, I obviously have no idea where I'm going with this. All I know is that I'm writing it to you while you and Alex are asleep. You two look so cute, almost annoyingly cute. _

_I have a mix tape playing in my walkman right now. Yeah, it's mostly Nirvana, of course. This tape reminds me of our senior year. So much happened. I think that's the only way I can sum it up. There were so many good memories though and not just this year but every year since I was in the fourth grade. I realized that almost all of my good memories of growing up are because of you and Alex, but mostly you. I love you so much, Olivia and I'll never stop loving you no matter what happens. You're like a sister to me. A sister that I made out with in the 10__th__ grade. Okay, that's disgusting, but you know what I mean._ _You and I have the kind of friendship that not many people are lucky enough to have. We understand what the other is saying even when we aren't even speaking. You're the one person I know I can always count on and I know you know you can count on me too. We've been there for each other through so much. You were the first person who talked to me when I still the new girl that everyone made fun of for being southern and having an accent and for being the tallest, skinniest girl in the class. Nine years later and I'm still the tallest, skinniest girl regardless of where we go and I still have that accent. I guess not much has changed. I hope that made you laugh or at least shake your head while reading this. Seriously, though, you were there for me when I found out I was pregnant and when I lost my baby and even when my parents disowned me. I don't know what I would have done without you. I shouldn't be saying that in the past tense. Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do without you when I'm in Texas. I know I'll have Serena and you'll have Alex, but it's not the same, you know? It's like you were the only person who never judged me. You love me for me and I love you for you. _

_I don't know where I'm going with this. I really don't. I'm just thinking about everything and I wonder what would have happened if we had made different choices. Like if you would have stayed with Connie and Alex had stayed with Casey. I liked you with Connie. There was a certain innocence about you back then and you were so carefree. You seemed so happy, Livya. Even though there was still drama with Jenny, it was no big deal because Connie, Becky, and Jenny are cheerleaders and messing with another cheerleader's girlfriend is like breaking a cheerleader code or so Connie told me when she was drunk. We both went to football games all the time so you could see Connie cheer and I could watch Trent play. Then I think about if I had said yes when Trent wanted to marry me. Well, he didn't want to marry me but he felt obligated to because of the baby. Then I think about him being at Notre Dame and people watching him play on national TV and then the NFL. He'll probably marry a famous model or actress or someone else ten times prettier than me. I hope he does. I'll be happy for him. Then I think about what would have happened had Serena not stalked me when I worked at the movie theater. I'm really glad because I would have never had the guts to ask her out. Just like I never had the guts to ask you out. I've never told you this but I had the biggest crush on you and when we kissed each other in the tenth grade it was more than just a drunken make out session for me. I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend when we were juniors but Jenny had already beaten me to it just two days before the day I had planned on asking you. I was going to spell the words "Be mine" in gummy bears on top of a strawberry ice cream cake. I think that's one of the reasons I hate Jenny so much. Not only did she have the balls to do what I couldn't, but she had you completely and you even lost your virginity to her. I wouldn't have been upset with you for bleeding on my sheets like she was. You losing your virginity to me would have been the greatest gift I had ever received. But I don't even know why that sticks with me. You were her girlfriend and you were bleeding and scared, how could she have been so upset? I hated her so much, Olivia. So much. She had the one girl I wanted more than anything in the world and she didn't even treat you right. I tried to be happy for you and your "milestones" that you were reaching with her, but I wasn't. And then when she broke up with you, I wanted to swoop in and play the hero, but you were on the rebound and before long you had Connie and I had Serena. Don't get me wrong, Serena is the love of my life, but I still think of what might have been_.

_The sun is coming up already. I should stop writing this and try to get some sleep. I have a big day ahead of me. I love you._

–_Abbie_

Olivia still didn't know what to make of the letter, but she was glad that Abbie had been so honest even if it did confuse her. She started thinking about what her life would have been like had she been Abbie's girlfriend instead of Jenny's. Would they still have been together? Would they have remained friends had they broken up? It was all too overwhelming for Olivia.

* * *

><p>In a bustling airport in Texas, Abbie held her crying girlfriend as close as she could. She wanted to kiss her, but she knew that was out of the question.<p>

"I miss home," Serena finally managed to say.

"I know, baby," Abbie told her. "So do I. If you want to ever go back, you can tell me. You'll still be my girl."

Serena shook her head. "I'm in it for the long haul. You're stuck with me now."

Abbie couldn't help but smile. "That's the Serena I fell in love with."

"And the Serena you're going to spend the rest of your life with."

Abbie wanted to kiss her girlfriend, but all she was able to do was hug her one more time.

"Abbie!" they heard a woman shout.

"Grandma!" Abbie said excitedly and led Serena over to her.

"Look at you," she said as she hugged her granddaughter. "You've gotten so beautiful. And who is this lovely young woman with you? Is this your Serena?"

"Yup, this is my Serena," Abbie said proudly. She was thrilled when her grandmother hugged Serena and insisted that Serena start calling her "grandma" instead of anything formal.

Abbie's grandfather was in the car and the girls rushed over to greet him after they had grabbed their suitcases. He commented on how much Abbie had grown up and how happy he was that she had found someone to love. Before they went home, they decided to stop at a restaurant and Abbie's grandparents asked questions about how the two of them had met and how Serena knew she was in love with their "little" Abbie.

Abbie had wanted to start unpacking when they had reached her grandparents' house, but Serena insisted on lying down in bed. She ended up falling asleep instantly, but Abbie didn't mind. She held on to her sleeping girlfriend and thought endlessly about what she had planned for their new life in Texas.


	12. Til I Hear It From You

Nearly a week had passed since Abbie and Serena had left New York and they had spent all of their time with Abbie's grandparents. Abbie's grandpa Ted told them stories about World War 2 and the times when he and Abbie's grandma were still dating. "She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen and I vowed to make her mine," he told them. Abbie then said that she knew exactly how he felt because she feels the same way about Serena. Abbie's mother and stepfather didn't have a good marriage and Abbie thought it was nice to have such great role models when it came to relationships. Grandpa Ted pulled her aside and told her to take care of Serena. "She's counting on you," he said. "That girl looks at you with so much love in her eyes. You need to be strong for her, be her rock."

While Abbie and Grandpa Ted had their "man-to-man" talk, Serena spent time with Grandma Barbara or Barb as she liked to be called. She showed Serena her hope chest and the two of them went through old love letters and photos. Serena loved Grandma Barb's accent and thought she sounded like a country song. Grandma Barb was fascinated by Serena's traditional New England upbringing and the two of them spent hours swapping stories about the differences between growing up in Texas and growing up in New York. She then welcomed Serena to the family and started showing her pictures of Abbie as a little girl.

"I've never seen any of these before," Serena said excitedly. "She looks so cute."

"Abbie is a beautiful girl," Grandma Barb told her. "She has these exotic good looks that I've never seen before. She's not blonde and blue eyed like the rest of us. I always told my daughter that Abbie should be a model, but she never went for it. She said Abbie wasn't graceful enough and instead she devoted all of her time to those damn pageants. I love Addie and Libby, but they are never going to be Miss America. They're too plain, but not my Abbie. Abigail could be on the runways in Paris wearing dresses that cost thousands of dollars and gracing the cover of _Vogue _magazine."

"I've never seen anyone as beautiful as Abbie," Serena admitted.

"Are we being biased?" Grandma Barb asked and Serena started laughing.

"Of course not," Serena said.. "It doesn't matter if you're her grandma and I'm her girlfriend. I'm sure everyone other than your daughter feels the same way about Abbie."

"Take this," Grandma Barb said and handed Serena a picture of Abbie holding her two front teeth in her hand and touching her tongue to the now toothless area at the front of her mouth. Serena started to become a little unnerved when she saw blood on Abbie's hand and on her chin.

"What happened?" Serena asked. "Why is she so full of blood?"

Grandma Barb started to laugh. "Abbie was six-years-old when this was taken. Her two front teeth were loose and they came out on their own when we were eating apple pie together, but that wasn't enough excitement for Abbie. She thought it would be funny if she put fake blood on her hand and her face and scared her mother. We quickly snapped this photo and then she ran screaming to her mom with the teeth in one hand and a pair of pliers in the other. She told her mom that she had gotten the pliers and pulled the teeth out herself and that's why she was bleeding so much. Her mom was hysterical and rushed Abbie to the sink with a glass of warm water and salt so she could gargle. That's when Abbie let her in on the joke and my daughter started laughing. She actually started laughing. That was the first and only time she ever laughed at one of Abbie's pranks."

"I love her pranks," Serena said. "She was even voted Class Clown."

"I'm not surprised," Grandma Barb said. "That's Abbie's favorite childhood picture. Show it to her and have her tell you the story. She loves telling it. You'll see her eyes start to light up and she'll smile uncontrollably."

"I love her smile," Serena admitted. "I just love _Abbie. _I can honestly say I love everything about her."

"She loves you, too, sweetheart," Grandma Barb told her. "I was devastated when my daughter disowned her for being with you. What my daughter doesn't understand is it's now _who _you love, it's _how _you love. Abbie is a sweet girl with a lot of love to give and I'm really glad she has you."

"I'm glad I have her, too," Serena said. She didn't think it was possible, but she felt more at home in Texas with Abbie's grandparents than she ever felt in New York. Abbie's grandparents genuinely cared about her and her well-being. The four of them had dinner together and had conversations instead of just shoving large amounts of money at Serena and leaving her on her own. She also enjoyed seeing Abbie being loved and appreciated instead of ignored like she was with her mother and stepfather.

They were moving in to their apartment tomorrow and even though Abbie and Serena were thrilled about having their own place, they knew it wouldn't be long before they started missing Abbie's grandparents.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in New York, the day had finally come when Olivia was supposed to move out of her childhood home and into her new apartment. She had been dreading this day all summer long. She had wanted Alex to help her move, but she had to get everything prepared for her fall semester. It's not that Olivia wanted Alex to actually help her move, she really just wanted some back-up for when she saw Jenny. Olivia had managed to avoid Jenny the entire summer, but now there was no such luck. Jenny would be in the next room and she would be seeing her every single day. Olivia knew Jenny was going to make everything as difficult as she could for Olivia. She would probably be showing up in Olivia's room wearing nothing but her underwear and saying that she wanted to talk. Olivia had hoped Jenny would be in a committed relationship with Becky, but that didn't look promising. Becky decided to give up on Jenny because she knew she would never commit to her. Everyone knew Jenny wanted Olivia and she'd stop at nothing until she had her.<p>

After all of their parents had left, Dylan pulled out his camera and started recording his new roommates as they unpacked. Olivia was still on edge from her encounter with Mrs. Jacobson and she was in no mood to be the star of Dylan's student film. Mrs. Jacobson had pulled her aside and cheerfully told her that she was so glad to see her again and that she was all Jenny ever talked about. She then told her that the two of them were so cute together and that she was the best thing to ever happen to her daughter.

Olivia had wanted to stay in her room, but Dylan insisted on having a meeting in the living room so everyone could introduce themselves on camera. Scotty, Mark, and Chucky quickly arranged the couches and brought over some of the kitchen chairs so everyone would have a place to sit down. Olivia sat down next to her future stepbrother Scotty and her roommate Shante. Becky and Jenny took the love seat and Mark and Chucky sat on the chairs.

"I'm Dylan," he said to the camera. "And these are my roommates. We just moved into our apartment today and I know there is bound to be some drama eventually. Hopefully nothing too bad. My roommates are all beautiful, outgoing people, but I can tell they're just as nervous as I am. All eight of us come from a quaint little suburb called Fallbrook. Chucky and I went to South Fallbrook High and our other roommates went to North Fallbrook. You're probably wondering why I'm doing this for my class project. The answer is simple and you're going to find out over the course of this film. We're all teenagers and we're all on our own for the first time. Who we are now may or may not be who we are at the end of this film because of everything we're going to encounter on a daily basis. It's real. It's raw. It's..."

"Unfuckingbelievable," Jenny said and Dylan started laughing.

"With that being said, let's start with Jenny," Dylan said and pointed the camera at her. "Tell me a little about yourself."

"I'm Jennifer Jacobson, but everyone just calls me Jenny or Jay Jay," Jenny said excitedly. "It's my second year here at Hudson, but I guess I'm still a freshman because I don't have enough credits earned. Blah, blah, blah. At least I partied, right? Dylan, make sure you're getting my good side. Are you getting my good side? Make sure my boobs look big."

"They look great, Jenny," Dylan assured her even though he wasn't even attracted to girls.

"They better," she said. "I just got them done. 34 D, baby."

Olivia couldn't help looking at Jenny in her tube top. She knew Olivia was looking so she smiled and winked at her.

"What's your major?" Dylan asked.

"Being hot," Jenny said and winked at Olivia again.

"No, really, what do you want as a career?" he asked.

"Look at me," Jenny responded. "I'm hot. I don't need to be smart and I totally don't need a career. Once I'm out of college, I'll have women begging to take care of me. I can think of one in particular who already wants me. Her name is Olivia Benson."

"Fuck you," Olivia said and got up from the couch. "I'm done."

As soon as she made her way over to the balcony, Jenny got up from the couch and decided to follow her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't want to talk to you," Olivia said.

"You've been checking me out all day. I know it's not talking you want to do with me."

"I'm with Alex," Olivia reminded her.

"Alex isn't here right now," Jenny said. She put her hands on either side of Olivia's waist and gave her a delicate kiss on the lips.

"Stop!" Olivia insisted. "I'm not yours anymore. I could have been if you hadn't broken up with me. I'm with Alex now and she's everything to me."

"If she's everything to you then why did you let me kiss you?" Jenny asked. "I know you said stop but that was–what–10 seconds later? You could have pushed me away the moment my lips touched yours, but you didn't, Olivia. You also didn't push me away when we were in my car the day before your graduation. You could have asked me to give you the key in the restaurant but you knew exactly what I had planned and you went along with it."

"I love Alex, I love Alex, I love Alex," Olivia repeated, trying to convince herself more than Jenny.

"Jenny, what the fuck, man?" Scotty said as he joined them on the balcony. "What are you doing?"

"Get out of here, Scotty. This doesn't concern you," Jenny insisted.

"You're straight trippin' if you think you're gonna hit it and quit it with my sister," he told Jenny. Olivia was waiting for her response, but she just rolled her eyes and turned to leave.

"Olivia, baby, you know where to find me," she said before leaving them alone.

"You okay?" Scotty asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Olivia said even though she was now crying.

"Come here," he said and opened his arms to hug her. She was able to find at least a little comfort by crying into his shoulder. "You're my sister, yo. Well, you will be when my dad and your mom get married. Just like I don't let anything happen to Tiffany or Ashley or Brittany, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I mean, if you want to fuck Jenny then fuck Jenny. I won't rat you out. But I'm not going to let her take advantage of you."

"Thanks, Scotty," Olivia said. "But cheating isn't okay. I can't have sex with Jenny and then have sex with Alex. That's not my style."

"Your style?" Scotty asked and started laughing. "Look at you, Liv. You have skanky hos all over you."

"My girlfriend is not a skanky ho," Olivia insisted.

"Four Eyes? Nah," Scotty said and started laughing. "I bet she's a freak. Is she a freak? I bet she's into all kinds of shit. She probably keeps those glasses on, huh?"

"We are _not _having this conversation about my girlfriend," Olivia said even though she was actually starting to smile. "I'm gonna tell Shante you're talking like this. She'll kick your ass."

"Speaking of Shante, where is she?" Scotty asked. "I'm gonna go get me a piece of that."

Before Scotty and Shante could officially sexile Olivia, she grabbed her Walkman from her room and returned to the balcony. She sat there alone for another two hours while the rest of her roommates other than Scotty and Shante were hanging out in the living room. She played a mixed tape that Alex had made for her in case she ever felt lonely. Before each song, Alex had recorded a message explaining exactly why she had chosen that song for Olivia. Most of the songs were overly sentimental, but Olivia didn't mind. These were the songs they had listened to while kissing in the car or making love and Olivia wanted to be taken back to those moments. This was going to be a long school year and Olivia had no idea how she was going to make it through without Alex by her side.


	13. Too Many Walls

Alex stood in front of her mirror and tried on her tenth outfit in less than an hour. Three were too childish, four were too casual, one was too frumpy, one was too slutty, but the tenth one was definitely just right. She looked at herself in her baby blue spandex dress and she couldn't get over the fact that her pantyline was now showing.

"Bree! Help!" Alex said frantically.

"What?" Bree asked

"My pantyline is showing!"

"Is that all?" Bree asked, relieved. "I thought something serious had happened. Just take off your underwear."

"You want me to not wear underwear?" Alex asked worriedly. "But this dress is short!"

Bree didn't even have to answer for Alex to know what was expected of her. She made Bree turn around and then she took her underwear off and placed it in her hamper.

"I feel so free," Alex said and started laughing. "Do you think Liv will be cool with this?"

"With you not wearing underwear?" Bree asked.

"No, with me going to a frat party," Alex responded.

"It's just a party," Bree insisted. "You'll be with me the whole time. It's not like you're going to hook up with another girl there and I have a boyfriend at Rutgers so it's not like I'm going to ditch you for a guy. We'll stick together and, besides, it's important that you have fun. You know Olivia is going to be having fun with her stepbrother and the rest of her roommates."

"Yeah, like Jenny," Alex said sadly.

"That's why you need to go out," Bree urged. "You need to get your mind off of that. Olivia is true to you and you're worrying for nothing."

"Maybe you're right," Alex sighed. She slipped on her matching blue pumps and exchanged her glasses for contacts. Alex looked at herself in the mirror one more time and couldn't be more pleased with what she saw. She saw a girl who looked nothing like the one everyone knew in high school. She was no longer 'Four Eyes' or any other name they called her. She was in a short dress, heels, bright blue eyeshadow, and dark lipstick. Her usual French braid was now a relic of the past and, instead, her hair was slightly teased. She was going to get hit on tonight. She just knew she was. None of it mattered to her, though. Alex liked the way she looked now, but what she really wanted was for Olivia to be able to admire her.

"Come on," Bree said and grabbed her by the hand. "The girls are already waiting for us in the quad. We're going to walk over there together."

Alex quickly kissed a picture of Olivia and as she was preparing to leave, their phone started ringing.

"Hello?" Alex asked when she answered the phone.

"Alexandra?" the girl on the other line asked. The moment she heard that voice, her heart started to beat twice as fast.

"Jennifer," Alex said coldly. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?"

"No reason, really," Jenny responded. "I just wanted to tell you I've been having fun with your girlfriend. We've lived together 24 hours now and she still hasn't taken her eyes off of me. We're always flirting with each other and she loves when I wear my lingerie in front of her. I was wearing it in her bed earlier, not that I was wearing it for long, of course. You know how Olivia is with lingerie. She practically rips it off. Oh, wait, you wouldn't know. You don't wear lingerie or anything remotely sexy for her. No wonder she went at me the way she did. I can still feel her inside me."

"I know you're lying," Alex said, her voice starting to quiver.

"If I'm lying then why are you so upset?" Jenny asked. "I'm on your side, sweetheart. It's Olivia who is fucking you over, not me. You need to keep her in check."

Alex wanted to tell her something, but she heard the sound of Jenny hanging up the phone.

"Alex, what's wrong?" Bree asked.

"Olivia is _fucking _Jenny," Alex said and started crying. "Not making out with her, fucking her. She's cheating on me."

"You're going to believe that bitch?" Bree asked. "That was Jenny, not Olivia. How do you know she's just not trying to break the two of you up? Call her apartment and asked for Olivia. I'm sure Olivia will straighten this whole thing out."

Alex quickly dialed Olivia's number and was disappointed when Becky answered.

"Can I speak to Olivia, please?"

"She's busy," Becky told her. "She's like in her room and the door is closed. I don't wanna go in there."

"Is Shante in there with her?" Alex asked, holding on to the slightest bit of hope.

"No, like Shante is with Scotty. I think they're like having sex in his room or something."

"Where is Jenny?" Alex asked.

"She's in Olivia's room again," Becky said. "Your girlfriend is such a slut, Four Eyes. But like so is Jenny. Jennifer Jacobson took the best months of my life and I'm finished with her just like you should be finished with Olivia. Those two deserve each other."

"Maybe," Alex said sadly. "I have to go."

"Want me to tell Olivia you called?" Becky asked.

"No, don't," Alex responded.

"I'm sorry, Four Eyes. I really am."

"Me, too," Alex said and hung up the phone.

Alex urged Bree to go to the quad with the girls. Bree wanted to stay and console Alex, but Alex insisted on being alone. She knew she was going to spend the night crying and she hated crying in front of other people, especially people who weren't Abbie and Olivia.

Once Bree left, Alex started wondering what Olivia and Jenny were doing. She imagined Olivia unhooking Jenny's bra and feeling her up. Olivia would tell her she's the most beautiful girl she had ever seen just as she had told Alex that very same thing. She imagined Olivia inside of Jenny and Jenny moaning loud enough for the whole apartment to hear. Serena had told her Jenny was bad in bed, but Alex didn't believe it. If Jenny was bad in bed, how did she get so many girls and so many guys? She had a feeling Jenny was going to be doing things to Olivia's body that Alex didn't think were physically possible.

Alex grabbed a picture of Olivia that she had taped to her wall and started to tear it in half. It felt therapeutic to Alex so she decided to tear it again and again and again. Before she knew it, there were tiny pieces of torn picture scattered on her bed. She then grabbed a mix tape that Olivia had made her and started stomping on it until it broke. She wanted to rid herself of everything that reminded her of Olivia. She had been through so much with Olivia and she couldn't believe this is how she repaid her for being a loyal girlfriend and best friend.

"I hate you, Olivia! I hate you!" Alex kept shouting. "You can have Jenny! I'm finished with you!"

* * *

><p>"That was amazing," Serena said as her naked girlfriend started making her way back up to her pillow.<p>

"Mind-blowing," Abbie told her.

"Earth-shattering," Serena added. "I'm still having a hard time catching my breath and my whole body is tingling."

"Why did we agree to that whole second virginity thing?" Abbie asked and then kissed Serena.

"I'm glad we did," Serena told her. "I feel like you tore me. I'm actually stinging in there."

"I'm sorry," Abbie said. "I didn't mean to."

"No, baby, it's a good thing," Serena insisted. "I feel like I really did lose my virginity to you."

"We've officially christened every surface in our apartment," Abbie pointed out. "I had you bent over the kitchen counter..."

"In the shower," Serena added. "Plus, we sixty-nined on the couch and I fingered you up against the wall."

"I love you," Abbie said and then kissed Serena one more time.

"I love you, too. I'm glad you brought me here."

"I'm glad you came with me. You're happy, right?"

"Very happy," Serena insisted. "What's not to be happy about? I have this little lovenest with you, Abbiekins. We get to make love to each other any time we want. I can fall asleep in your arms every night and wake up with your arms still around me. We practically get to spend every waking moment together. That's like a dream come true for me."

"You better enjoy spending every waking moment together while we can because you start school the day after tomorrow, Miss Southerlyn," Abbie said affectionately.

"I wish I was Mrs. Carmichael instead of Miss Southeryln," Serena said as she cuddled up to Abbie. Abbie gave her a kiss on the top of her head and held her girlfriend close.

"If it were legal, I'd marry you right now," Abbie told her. "Are you excited about school? You're going to be a big shot 12th grader."

"Not really," Serena said. "What if no one likes me at this school?"

"You're beautiful. Everyone is going to like you."

"I don't want people to like me because of the way I look," Serena insisted. "I already have a girlfriend, a girlfriend I love more than life itself."

"You have physical beauty and a personality to match," Abbie told her and Serena started laughing.

"I'm the kind of girl who only has outer beauty," Serena pointed out. "I'm not little miss nice girl and you know it."

"Neither am I," Abbie told her. "Why do you think we make a perfect couple? It took a while, but you and I tell each other like it is."

Abbie and Serena had turned off the light and prepared to fall asleep, but the sound of their phone ringing nixed that plan.

"Baby, don't," Serena groaned.

"What if it's important?" Abbie asked. "What if it's your parents?"

"Hello?"

"Abs, it's Alex."

"What's up?" Abbie asked, surprised that Alex would call at that time.

"Nothing. I just miss you."

"Bullshit, you're crying," Abbie pointed out. "I can tell when something is wrong with you, Alex. An 'I miss you' call starts out with you calling me some weird name and I'll call you one in return and it'll go on and on. This is an 'Alex Cabot has a crisis' call."

"Olivia is cheating on me...again," Alex informed her.

"What?"

"Jenny called me awhile ago," Alex said. "She told me everything."

"And you're believing her?" Abbie asked.

"Becky confirmed it."

"And Becky Albers is a better source?" Abbie asked, confused. "Alex, that's like dumb and dumber, Becky being the dumber of the two."

"I believe her," Alex said sadly. "I don't want to believe her, but I have a feeling it's true. It has to be."

"Have you talked to Livya?"

"No," Alex responded. "I tried calling, but Becky answered and said that she was in the room with Jenny and then Becky went on about how Jenny and Olivia are sluts and they deserve each other."

"Sleep on it, Alex," Abbie urged her. "Try calling Olivia in the morning and I'm sure she'll straighten this whole thing out. I doubt she's cheating on you. That's not like Livya."

"She did it before," Alex reminded her. "Remember?"

"Alex–"

"Do you think this is karma?"

"No!" Abbie insisted.

"I did a messed up thing to Casey and now I'm having this crappy relationship with Olivia because of it."

"Lex, you're being irrational right now."

"Am I?" Alex asked. "I can't be doing this, Abbie. I can't spend the next four years of my life wondering if my girlfriend is cheating on me. She's driving me crazy. Even if she's not cheating on me, I have to deal with Jenny calling me. How did she even get my number? I just can't do this. I've been a nervous wreck for the past few months because of Olivia and it's starting again. Being a couple doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean she won't cheat on me. She's cheating on me. She's having sex with Jenny right now. I know it. Why do I even love her? Olivia has done nothing but put me through hell. I'm a good girlfriend, right? I know I'm a good girlfriend, a loving girlfriend, a supportive girlfriend. I'm just not some bombshell like Jenny is and that's what Olivia likes. She likes brunettes. Jenny is a brunette. Connie is a brunette. What if I dye my hair brown? What if I starve myself like Jenny does? Do you think she'd love me then?"

"Alex, stop!" Abbie insisted. "Olivia loves you."

"I have to go," Alex told her.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Alex said. "I'm going to try to sleep."

"I'm here if you need me. It doesn't matter what time."

"I know. Thanks," Alex said and hung up the phone.

* * *

><p>Olivia put her Princeton girlfriend sweatshirt on and sat down on her bed with her knees raised up to her face. She turned her head to the pictures of Alex on her wall and started crying.<p>

"I need you here," she said to the pictures. "I need you, Alex. Why haven't you called me? You know how much I love you and how much I miss you."

Olivia wanted to go home, but home was over an hour away and that's if someone drove her. Instead, she grabbed Mr. Cuddles and cried into his fur. She wondered what Alex was doing at that moment. She imagined her at Dana's apartment sipping coffee and discussing their pre-law student organization. Dana would probably sweet talk her and then lead her to her bedroom, where Alex would go against everything she had promised Olivia and give in to anything Dana wanted her to do.

"Don't do it," Olivia said, her words muffled. "Please, don't do it, babe. I love you so much."


	14. It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday

**juicetroop82: **Yeah, these two have absolutely no faith in each other whatsoever. It may change, though. Just maybe. :) **Sidle13: **Ohhh, there will be some more Dana. haha. **peterpeter: **Thank you so much. Sorry for making you wait so long. Jenny and Becky will get it eventually. **litafan82: **haha no, Olivia did not fuck Jenny. **Emilyprentissfan14: **Thank you! I'm really glad you liked both of the stories. :)

* * *

><p>Olivia's first day of school hadn't exactly gone the way she had expected it to. Her first and only class of the day was a biology class, one of her worst subjects. She had hated biology in high school, but she had a feeling she was going to hate it even more now. Every Tuesday and Thursday she had an hour and fifteen minutes of biology lecture and every Thursday, she had a three-hour biology lab. To top it off, her class began at 7:30 in the morning. Even though she hated biology in high school, having Alex as a lab partner made it so much better for her. They treated every lab session as a game in which they were both mad scientists. Their classmates thought they were nerds for doing that, but Alex and Olivia didn't care. They had so much fun together and they managed to have the highest grade of any pair of lab partners in their entire class. Olivia wished Alex was her lab partner again, but Alex wasn't even in the same state, let alone the same biology class.<p>

She missed Alex more with each passing minute. She waited by the phone for Alex to call, but she heard nothing from her. Instead, she decided to take matters into her own hands and call Alex.

"Hello?"

"Bree?" Olivia asked, disappointedly.

"Is this Olivia?" she asked. "Alex doesn't want to talk to you."

"Bree, please give her the phone," Olivia pleaded. "I need to talk to my girlfriend."

"What do you want, Olivia?" Alex asked curtly. Olivia began twisting the phone cord and trying to think of something to say.

"I love you, Alex. Why aren't you calling me anymore?"

"Because I don't want to talk to you," Alex said matter-of-factly.

"Why?" Olivia asked, trying not to cry.

"Like you don't know. Don't try to play innocent with me, Olivia."

"I'm not playing innocent," Olivia insisted. "I really don't know."

"I'm not falling for your lies anymore," Alex told her. "We're finished, Olivia. You've hurt me so much in such a short time. I loved you, Olivia. I wanted a future with you, but now all I want is to forget all about you. Please, just stop calling me and let me get on with my life."

Olivia wanted to find out what Alex was talking about, but before she could get another word in she heard the sound of Alex hanging up. She was going to call her again, but she knew there was no use. Alex would probably just hang up the moment she heard her voice and if she didn't she would probably say something even more hurtful to Olivia than what she had just told her. Instead, Olivia decided to lie down on her bed and think about Alex. Her roommates were all at school and Abbie was probably still asleep, so there was nobody to talk to. She had never felt so lonely in her life and she started to remember the better times she had with Alex.

* * *

><p><strong>December 31, 1978<strong>

"Girls, what are you doing?" Mrs. Cabot asked Alex and Olivia.

"Nothing," the two four-year-olds said and then exploded into a fit of giggles. When Mrs. Cabot looked at them, she saw that Alex and Olivia had switched pajamas and Olivia was wearing Alex's nightgown while Alex was wearing Olivia's Wonder Woman pajama set.

"The shirt is on wrong," Olivia told Alex, which made them giggle even more. Alex tried to take the shirt off but the collar got stuck on her head.

"Mommy! Help!" Alex said frantically. "I'm stuck!"

Mrs. Cabot rushed over to her daughter and pulled the shirt back down. She then removed Alex's glasses and gently pulled the shirt over her daughter's head. She fixed the inside-out shirt and put it back on Alex. Once it was on, she straightened out her daughter's blonde pigtails and put her glasses on her.

"Thank you," Olivia said and hugged Mrs. Cabot.

"For what, sweetheart?" Mrs. Cabot asked.

"For saving Alex," Olivia responded. "I couldn't do it."

"You're welcome," Mrs. Cabot told her and playfully touched her fingertip to Olivia's little nose. "And don't feel bad. Not even Wonder Woman can save people all the time."

Once Mrs. Cabot left them alone, Alex and Olivia went back to drinking hot chocolate from their Sesame Street sippy cups.

"Guess what!" Olivia said excitedly

"What?" Alex asked.

"Joey asked me to marry him at the park yesterday and then he kissed me."

"Yucky!" Alex said and started laughing. "What did you do?"

"I punched him in the nose," Olivia said proudly. "But then he started bleeding and he told his mommy and then his mommy told my mommy."

"Did you get in trouble?" Alex asked worriedly.

"No," Olivia bragged. "When we got home, my mommy told my aunties and they all told me they were happy I punched him."

"Boys are gross," Alex admitted. "I never want to marry one."

"What about girls?" Olivia asked.

"Olivia!" Alex said and started giggling. "Girls can't marry girls, silly."

"I know that, Alex! But girls can kiss girls," Olivia informed her. "I see my Aunt Olivia and Aunt Lorraine kissing all the time."

"And it's not yucky?" Alex asked.

"I don't know," Olivia told her. "My aunties really like it. They kiss a lot and then they do other things."

"Like what?" Alex asked and wrinkled her nose.

"I don't know," Olivia shrugged. "At that time their door is closed and my aunt Olivia starts saying weird things like 'Oh, Lorraine. Harder, harder.' I asked my mommy what that meant and she told me something about them being in love."

"So girls can be in love with other girls?" Alex asked hopefully.

"That's what my mommy said and my mommy knows everything, so it has to be true."

"Good."

"Why?"

"'Cause I'm in love with you," Alex confessed. "I love you the way my mommy loves my daddy."

"I love you, too," Olivia said and gave Alex a hug.

The two girls looked at each other and started giggling again. Neither of them knew what they were supposed to do next, but they both knew _something _was supposed to happen when two people said they loved each other. That's when four-year-old Alex let go of her inhibitions and gave the unsuspecting Olivia a quick peck on the lips.

"That wasn't yucky," Alex told her.

"Your lips taste like hot chocolate," Olivia said excitedly.

"Olivia?"

"What?"

"You're pretty," Alex said and started blushing.

* * *

><p><strong>September 1987<strong>

It was the first day of 8th grade and the Cabenmichael girls were in the girls' bathroom at school, standing in front of the mirrors above the sinks. They had all arrived in modest clothes, but Abbie and Olivia insisted on going to the bathroom before class started so they could change. Alex stayed in her miniskirt and sweater, but she began applying mascara and eyeshadow while Abbie and Olivia were changing in the bathroom stalls.

Abbie was the first to emerge from the bathroom stall. She was now wearing a tube top and skin tight pants.

"Does this look slutty?" she asked Alex.

"Not really," Alex told her and Abbie looked disappointed.

Abbie then grabbed two small pins from her backpack and used them to pin the bottom of her tube top so it would become shorter and show off her belly button. "How about now?"

"Definitely slutty," Alex told her, which made Abbie finally start to smile.

Olivia emerged from the bathroom wearing a tight pink halter top, a denim miniskirt with ruffles, and a pair of pink heels. "Goodbye, 7th grade Olivia," she said as she modeled her outfit for them.

"You've out-slutted me," Abbie said to her. "I hate you."

"There's still hair and make-up," Olivia reminded her.

"What's with trying to look slutty?" Alex asked. "I don't like it."

"Alex, this is 8th grade!" Abbie told her. "We aren't little kids anymore. We're women and it's time we start looking like women."

Abbie and Olivia pulled out Mrs. Carmichael's copy of _Cosmopolitan _and started teasing their hair like the women in the magazine. When it was finally to their liking, they started doing their eye-makeup and lipstick. Paying no attention to what eye make-up best coordinated with their skin tone and eye shape, the girls began piling on dark eyeshadow and coat after coat of mascara.

"I think we're ready for the 8th grade," Olivia said after twenty minutes of primping. "We just have to remember to change and take our make-up off before our parents see us after school."

Olivia noticed that Alex kept staring at her the whole time they were in the bathroom. Olivia didn't want Alex to know, but she was dressing that way for her. She wanted Alex to like her, but she knew Alex had eyes for Casey. They had already known each other for years and she had only kissed her once–when they were in preschool. Since then, she had only kissed Casey.

The girls walked over to their lockers and quickly stashed the clothes they had worn when they got dropped off. Some of the boys were whistling at them, but Olivia didn't care. She just kept hoping for a reaction from Alex. Abbie, on the other hand, was feeding off of the attention she was getting from boys.

"You're a major babe," Trent said when he saw her. His compliment made Abbie start to blush uncontrollably.

"You like Trent," Alex teased.

"No, I don't," Abbie insisted. "Shut up."

"Yeah, you do," Olivia told her.

Just then Casey approached them to say hello. Standing next to her was a lanky blonde girl with braces that the Cabenmichael girls had never seen before. She wasn't wearing any make-up other than some clear lipgloss, but she didn't need any. Her big blue eyes already stood out. Alex and Olivia looked over at Abbie, but Abbie was too busy looking at the new girl.

"Are you nervous?" Alex asked Casey.

"Yes," Casey admitted. "I want to go back to elementary school where it's safe. Seventh grade is already scary and the bell hasn't even rang yet. The only good thing about it is I'm at the same school as you."

"Oh, I get it," the new girl said and winked at Casey. "This is her."

"I'm sorry," Casey said. "Everyone, this is Serena. She just moved here from Connecticut."

The girls took turns introducing themselves and asking some more about Serena and how she was liking her new home.

"Welcome to Fallbrook Junior High," Olivia told her.

"Or as I like to call it, the seventh circle of Hell," Abbie said.

"It's really not that bad," Alex insisted. "You're with Casey which means you're in good hands."

Alex's comment made Casey blush and it made Olivia want to puke. The girls looked at Serena for some type of reaction to their comments, but she was too busy looking at Abbie.

"Where are you from?" Serena asked her.

"Here," Abbie responded.

"Not with that accent," Serena said.

"I'm from Texas," Abbie told her.

"Texas? Well, I wouldn't mind having a little south in my mouth," Serena said and winked at her.

The girls saw Abbie's mouth start to hang open and they tried their hardest not to laugh. Olivia knew Serena couldn't have been older than 12 and she wanted to know where on earth a 12-year-old learned how to flirt like that.

"We should go," Casey urged Serena. "First period Pre-Algebra isn't going to find itself."

"It was nice meeting you all," Serena said before leaving with Casey.

"Okay, I have a new goal in life," Abbie announced when Casey and Serena were out of sight.

"Oh, no. What now?" Alex groaned.

"My new goal in life is to make out with Serena. She's so sexy," Abbie told them as she leaned against her locker. "Do you think she slips the tongue?"

"You're crazy," Olivia said and started laughing. "First you want Trent and now you want Serena."

"I don't want Trent," Abbie insisted. "And even if I did, it doesn't matter, Olivia. I'm a woman of the '80s and it's my prerogative to go after everything I want and I want Serena. She makes my heart beat a million times a minute. It's still beating really fast even though she's not here right now. Does that mean I'm in love? It's love at first sight, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Alex agreed. "So ask her out."

"No way," Abbie said even though she had been confident a few seconds ago. "No way in hell. I'm too nervous. I'll wait until high school. If it's meant to be I'll ask her out in high school and then we'll be a couple and live happily ever after."

"I hope so," Alex told her. "You know the best thing about 8th grade? Jenny Jacobson isn't here anymore to strut around like she owns the place."

"Oh, I hate that girl," Abbie said with a twisted face. "You know she stuffs her bra, right?"

"What?" Alex and Olivia asked in disbelief.

"With toilet paper," Abbie informed them. "Jenny has a 2-ply chest. It's so pathetic. I know I'm as flat as a board, but at least I don't deny it. Shit, I have to get to class. I'll see y'all at lunch."

As soon as Abbie left, Alex started to slowly stroke Olivia's arm.

"You look beautiful," Alex told her. Olivia felt her heart start to beat faster and she began feeling the same emotions that Abbie was feeling, but she knew hers had to be more intense. Abbie was in love after knowing Serena less than five minutes. Olivia had known Alex for nine years; she knew her love was stronger and all-consuming. It had to be.

"Thanks," Olivia finally managed to say.

"You look beautiful all the time," Alex began. "But there's something about you in a skirt and that halter top. It just does something to me."

"Like what?" Olivia asked flirtatiously.

"I feel all tingly," Alex said and averted her eyes. "Tingly in places I've never felt...tingly...before. I want to do things to you; things I shouldn't do, things I don't even know how to do."

"Tell me about these things," Olivia suggested. She leaned in closer to Alex and waited for her response.

"Things my 13-year-old body probably isn't ready for," Alex said nervously. "Olivia, remember that thing we learned in health class about how the...vagina...gets lubricated when a woman gets aroused? Well, mine is doing that."

Olivia started smiling the moment Alex said that. Her plan had worked and Alex looked adorable when she was flustered. She leaned in and hugged Alex closer than she ever had before.

"Olivia?"

"Yeah?"

"Feeling your body pressed up against me isn't helping the situation," Alex admitted.

"Sorry," Olivia said and quickly backed away.

"Don't be," Alex told her. "I'm just really glad I'm not a boy right now. It'd be _so _obvious. At least girls can hide it."

* * *

><p><strong>January 11, 1992<strong>

Olivia looked over at the beautiful sleeping girl cuddled up to her and she couldn't believe what had happened. The two of them had just made love to each other for the first time after years of denying their true feelings. Not wanting to wake her, Olivia gently kissed Alex's forehead.

"Babe," Alex said, still half asleep.

"Yeah?"

"You were incredible.".

"Not even," Olivia said and started smiling.

"I feel like a woman now," Alex told her. "I never knew sex could be so...so...mind-blowing."

"And so intimate," Olivia added.

"I've waited so long for this," Alex confessed.

"Oh, you mean since that time you were wet on the first day of 8th grade?"

"Olivia!" Alex said and started blushing.

She didn't know what to say, so she got on top of Alex and kissed her neck. When Alex began moaning, Olivia knew exactly how they would be spending the rest of their night.

"I love you so much," Olivia told her. "I've always loved you and I'm always going to love you."

* * *

><p>She kept replaying that last memory no matter how much it made her cry. She loved Alex and she was <em>always <em>going to love Alex. She wanted her girlfriend; her ex-girlfriend, she should say, but she had no idea how to reach her. She couldn't call Alex because she knew she would hang up and she didn't have enough money to go to Princeton and explain everything to her in person. Instead, she held onto Mr. Cuddles and tried to lose herself in her biology textbook.


	15. Seasons Change

Olivia had officially survived her first week of college and her first week of living with her roommates, so she decided to celebrate. Her living situation actually wasn't as bad as she had thought it was going to be. Becky, Jenny, and Shante were so preoccupied with cheerleading that they were rarely home. Mark and Scotty were always at football practice or the gym and Chucky was now pledging a fraternity just as Olivia had predicted. The only person who was really home was Dylan. The two of them had gotten off to a rocky start, but they were quickly becoming friends. He had gone out to lunch with Olivia and her mom and Olivia tried not to feel left out as the two of them picked each other's brains. Her mom commented on Dylan's analytical mind and said that if they had camcorders in the '70s, she probably would have done the same thing he was doing with his student film. When they were home, they'd watch movies together, or 'films' as Dylan preferred to call them, but they weren't the slasher movies she watched with Abbie and Alex. There were subtitles and most of them had a message. The two of them swapped mix tapes and talked about unrequited love. Olivia poured her heart out to him off camera and Dylan did the same. She told him all about Alex breaking up with her via phone and he told her all about being in love with Mark, but the Mark that only he sees and not the macho jock that everyone else sees.

The two of them had just grabbed lunch and were now roaming around the city. Olivia worried about boring him with her obsessive talking about Alex. He insisted she wasn't, but Olivia had a feeling she was. She wanted to stop talking about Alex, but she didn't know how to stop. Everything reminded her of Alex; every girl with blonde hair, every girl with glasses, and if a girl had both blonde hair _and _glasses, Olivia nearly cried.

The two of them were exploring the area when Dylan insisted that they stop inside a music store. It was a little hole in the wall place that was known for having nothing but alternative music and hard to find records in stock. Olivia was instantly intrigued, but Dylan told her the music wasn't really why they were going there. Earlier that day, Olivia had confessed to Dylan that she felt unfulfilled. In high school she had softball, but in college she wasn't involved in anything. She didn't want to pledge a sorority or play a sport, but she still wanted a hobby or something she could lose herself in like the rest of her roommates had with sports, cheerleading, fraternities, and filmmaking. She knew she would never be as popular in college as she was in high school, but she still wanted to find her niche.

"There's a guy I want you to meet," Dylan informed her. "He's kind of a dick."

"Then why do you want me to meet him?" Olivia asked as they were a few feet away from the store.

"You'll see," is all Dylan told her.

When they walked into the store, Olivia tried to take in all of her surroundings. She had never been anywhere like it before. The Hudson University radio station was playing from a boom box by the cash register. The cashier was a college-age girl with long, greasy hair, a plaid jumper, combat boots, and more piercings on her face than Olivia thought was ever possible. Olivia self-consciously looked at her own clothes and started to feel like a dweeb. Her mini skirt, sandals, and neatly tucked-in lavender tank top were so passé in comparison to the way the female employees and customers were dressed. She hoped her nose ring would give her _some_points with them, but she knew her preppy ensemble would ruin any credibility the piercing would give her.

"Karen?" Dylan asked the cashier. "Where's Josh?"

"Josh, get your bitch ass out here!" Karen called out.

Olivia saw a tall, lanky guy with ripped jeans and an oversized flannel shirt walk out of the stockroom. His chin-length blonde hair was covered in an old beanie and Olivia swore she saw a rainbow bracelet on his wrist.

"Dylan," he said and they exchanged some weird handshake. "What's up?"

"Nada," Dylan told him. "I just want you to meet someone. This is Olivia."

"That chick you told me about?" Josh asked. "_This_is her? I thought she'd be…"

"Trust me, she's cool," Dylan said in her defense.

Olivia knew this guy sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite peg him yet.

"I know who you are!" Olivia said, interrupting their conversation. "You're Josh as in The Rock Block with Josh. I've listened to you every night this week on our school's radio station."

"Maybe she's good for something after all," Josh teased.

"What are you talking about?" Olivia asked.

"I need a chick," Josh told her.

Olivia gave him a confused look. "I don't know if Dylan told you, but I'm—"

"Not a chick to fuck," Josh told her. "A co-host. I wanted Dylan, but my boss thinks it's better if I have a chick as a co-host. Dylan brought you up. He said you have something about you. I pictured you as a girl who looked like Karen, but I Just don't—I don't know what to make of you."

"I'm not a prep," Olivia insisted.

"Oh, really? Where are you from?"

"Fallbrook," Olivia said nonchalantly.

"North or South?"

"North," Olivia said hesitantly.

"I thought so," Josh told her and smirked.

"But I'm on the cusp," Olivia said defensively. "I'm a couple of blocks away from South Fallbrook."

"Dylan and I are from South Fallbrook," Josh told her. "South High class of '89 for me. I've always hated you rich North High kids."

"I'm not rich," Olivia pointed out. "I don't live a preppy lifestyle and everyone knows that South High kids are the snobs."

"Do something with your look," Josh told her. "Everything about you just screams freshman girl from the suburbs."

"No," Olivia said and glared at him. "I can like the same kind of music that you like and still look as if I actually shower. Besides, if I change my look, isn't that conforming?"

Dylan laughed, but Josh just covered his eyes and shook his head. Olivia was never this rude to people, but she knew Josh wasn't the type of guy who would give her a shot or even respect her if she wasn't blunt with him.

"I hate this girl," Josh said to Dylan even though he was smiling. "This is going to be perfect. I'll call my boss and tell him about her."

"So…?" Olivia said, trying to get a direct answer from him.

"Show up at the studio next Friday at 6," Josh told her. "And don't wear anything from The Gap."

"Ralph Lauren, it is," Olivia said sarcastically. Josh looked at her in disbelief and Olivia knew she had him right where she wanted him.

"Thanks," Olivia told Dylan once they had left the store.

"No problem," Dylan responded. "I think you've found your niche."

"Now that that's taken care of, I want to work on making Alex mine again," Olivia said glumly.

"You need to get her something," Dylan said excitedly. "Ship it to her. That's the only way since she won't see you or accept your phone calls."

"I can't buy Alex's love," Olivia told him with a disgusted look on her face. "She's not that kind of girl."

"Not jewelry or anything like that. Something only you can get her. Something distinctly Olivia and when you send it to her, don't put a return address. When she opens it, you want her to know it's from you without some bullshit return address telling her it is."

"I know exactly what to get her," Olivia said excitedly. She grabbed Dylan by the hand and started leading him to a nearby toy store.

Olivia was grateful that _Jurassic __Park _was all the rage among little kids and there were dinosaurs everywhere. Olivia went straight to the individually packaged dinosaur figurines and frantically searched for the ones she wanted. She thought about the "gang" that she and Abbie had started. Looking at these dinosaurs took her back to the simple times of drawing dinosaurs in the driveway with colorful sidewalk chalk while listening to New Kids on the Block. It was only a year ago, but it felt like a lifetime. She thought about Alex in her dorm in New Jersey and Abbie being practically married.

Olivia only had ten dollars in cash, but her mom had given her a credit card for emergencies. She knew her mom wouldn't consider this an emergency, but buying these dinosaurs was something she had to do for peace of mind. Even though they were in college, Olivia was still their T-Rex, Abbie was still their velociraptor, and Alex would always be their brontosaurus. Olivia grabbed three sets of Cabenmichael dinosaurs and charged them to her credit card. One set was for herself, one was being sent to New Jersey, and the other was being sent all the way to Texas for her best friend Abbie.

Dylan agreed that it was a great idea for a gift and the two of them were soon on their way to the post office to arrange for the gifts to be shipped out. Once they had been shipped, Olivia became even more nervous than she was before. She knew Abbie would love the dinosaurs and display them proudly in her apartment, but Alex was a different matter. She worried Alex would think they were juvenile and give them to Jared instead of displaying them like Abbie would. Or maybe she would like everything about them except for the fact that they were from Olivia. That alone might cause her to throw them away.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at a dorm in Princeton, Alex was putting the finishing touches on her hair and make-up.<p>

"You look beautiful," Dana told her after thoroughly examining Alex's appearance. "Are you nervous?"

"More nervous than I've ever been before," Alex admitted. "What if they don't like me?"

"I'm President," Dana said and started kissing her. "The girls are going to like who I tell them to like."

"But the rules," Alex began.

"The girls don't need to know you're my piece of ass on the side," Dana told her as she started to hike up Alex's dress.

"No," Alex said, stopping the hand that Dana was using to push her panties to the side. "Not right now."

"You're right," Dana agreed. "I should go help the girls prepare. See you later."

"Yeah," Alex said nonchalantly and gave Dana a quick kiss on the lips.

She was officially someone's friend with benefits. Dana thought she was beautiful, but she would never commit to a freshman.

When she was in high school, Alex couldn't fathom attending a sorority rush event. She never thought she was pretty enough or interesting enough, but here she was casually hooking up with Dana Miles, the president of Beta Gamma, the hottest sorority on campus. She had met some of the Beta Gamma girls while having coffee with Dana and they told her that she should rush. One of the girls went on about how Alex would be with like-minded girls with her same background instead of the girls she was used to hanging out with.

"I'd like to propose a toast," Bree said to Alex as she handed her a shot glass filled with Jack Daniels.

"To what?" Alex asked, taking the shot glass.

"To the future of Beta Gamma," Bree said. "And us, the two hottest girls to ever walk the planet."

Bree and Alex quickly downed their shots and left their dorm room. Their friends were meeting them in the quad and they didn't want to keep them waiting. As Alex and her friends entered the Beta Gamma house, she realized that they all looked so much alike and her look wasn't too different from theirs. They all wore blazers or cardigans and the entire executive board except for Dana had blonde hair. She wondered what her high school classmates were doing and she wished they could see her now. She wasn't Four Eyes anymore or that nerdy girl they had made fun of in high school. She was gorgeous and Beta Gamma was practically courting her. Alex smiled as she looked around at the girls she would be spending the next four years with; she had finally found her niche and she wanted to forget all about the girl she used to be.


	16. Smells Like Teen Spirit

********A/N: So I've decided to click on the little complete button but before the story comes to an end I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed, favorited, and added this story to story alerts. It means a lot to me and I hope you've enjoyed the journey that our Cabenmichael girls have been on. :)****

**July 1993**

Nearly a year had passed since Alex and Olivia had last spoken to each other and Olivia was looking like a shadow of her former self. She had been voted Most Desirable Girl by her senior class just a little more than a year ago, but now she was putting little to no effort into her appearance. After she found out that Alex had thrown away the toy dinosaurs she had sent her and was having casual sex with Dana, she decided to lose herself in her new job as a radio show host. That meant shedding her former image and her caring disposition. The hair that she had once spent an hour styling each morning now hung in her face in loose waves. She had let it grow past her shoulders and then bought a box of black hair dye so she could get rid of her original color. The only make-up she would wear is a tube of burgundy lipstick and some mascara that she bought at a drugstore after she had given away all of her treasured make-up palettes. All of her "preppy" clothes were donated to charity and she charged an entire wardrobe onto the credit card her mom gave her which consisted of tank tops, ripped jeans, flannel shirts, jumpers, ripped tights, and Converse that she then wrote on with Sharpies. Her number of piercings had increased from a single nose ring to a tongue ring and a belly button ring. She altered her appearance to forget about Alex and the girl she used to be, but the more she changed herself physically the more miserable she became. She wanted to be the girl she was in high school; the one who smiled in every photo instead of flipping off the camera like she did now. She wanted a steady girlfriend instead of a slew of nameless girls that she made out with behind the smoky, hole in the wall music venue that she frequently visited with Dylan and Josh. She'd always pick out the girl that most resembled Alex and then flirt with her until her catch of the night would suggest they go somewhere a little more private. They'd begin by making out behind the venue and then end up in the girl's apartment for a couple of hours of sex that never satisfied Olivia. She tried fantasizing about Alex, but she knew it was useless. No girl could ever be Alex. They didn't taste the same way Alex did or make the same noises she made when she came. Most importantly, they didn't hold her afterward and tell her that they loved her. Instead, Olivia would slip out around 3 a.m. and head back to her apartment to spend the rest of the night listening to music or crying about Alex. No names or numbers were exchanged and Olivia would often leave without saying goodbye.

Olivia had found out what Jenny and Becky had told Alex, but explaining it to Alex was no use. Abbie had called Alex the moment she found out, but Alex insisted that whatever had happened was for the best because there was no use in being in a relationship with Olivia if she couldn't trust her. That's when Abbie brought up the dinosaurs that Olivia sent and Alex told her that she had thrown them away because she was finished living in the past.

Olivia's friends had spent weeks trying to console her, but it was no use. She went to bed every night with the image of Alex having sex with Dana. She thought about what they were doing to each other at that moment. Alex was probably telling her how beautiful she was and wishing Dana would forget her rule about not dating freshmen and just ask her to be her girlfriend. She thought about Alex touching herself while fantasizing about Dana, but it dawned on her that she probably had no need to pleasure herself because she was probably getting enough pleasure from Dana.

Olivia didn't completely isolate herself from her friends, but she wasn't as outgoing as she used to be. She hardly talked to Abbie and Serena or any of her roommates other than Dylan because Dylan understood what she was going through. She didn't want to be around happy couples because she was she felt as if they flaunted their happiness in front of her and those who didn't flaunt their happiness took pity on her and treated her differently than they had in the past.

Her co-host Josh had recently graduated so Olivia was given control of the show which had been changed last month from the Rock Block with Josh and Olivia to Livya's Lixx. Once Josh had stepped down and given her control of the show, her boss started to brainstorm with her and they decided to make the show edgy and more female friendly. Olivia wanted to play the usual bands, but mix up the playlist with some Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, and Babes In Toyland. She was looking forward to losing herself in the show for another school year and her friends and family were already getting used to the idea of losing her, which is why it was a surprise that she decided to go to Lollapalooza with her high school friends for Casey's going away celebration.

Casey had been accepted to the University of Washington at Seattle and instead of giving her a going away party, her parents bought tickets to Lollapalooza for her and her friends. She had set one aside for Olivia and told her that there was no pressure but they would love to see her.

When Olivia showed up at Casey's house, her friends hardly recognized her. They hugged her and told her that she looked great even though it was a lie. "She's so skinny now," Olivia overheard Serena say to Abbie. Connie couldn't believe she was the same girl that she had once dated and Casey couldn't believe that someone had actually out-grunged her.

"I survived the reign of Campbell," Casey said to Olivia when they were sitting alone on her bed.

"Cool," Olivia said nonchalantly, not even looking at Casey. Her mind was on Alex and whether or not she was going to show up. If she did, Olivia didn't know how she would react to seeing her again. She wondered what Alex looked like and whether or not Dana had changed her. Her mind went back to the innocence of making love to Alex and how the two of them always seemed to fit together so perfectly.

"Olivia?" Casey asked. It took a few seconds of lightly shaking her before Olivia came out of her trance.

"Yeah?"

"What's up with you?" Casey asked. "You're so…different."

"Things change, Casey," she responded, her eyes still looking away. She was trying to focus on her shoes, the pictures on the wall, anything other than her situation.

"Don't tell me this is all because of Alex," Casey said, frustrated. "I know your heart is broken, but you have to move on and focus on yourself for once."

"You don't understand."

"I don't understand? Really, Olivia?" Casey told her and Olivia noticed her voice was starting to sound angry. "You think you're the only one who had her heart broken by Alex Cabot? If I can recall this correctly, she left me for you after we were together for four years. Four years! Four years in comparison to your five months."

"I'm sorry," Olivia mumbled.

"What?"

"I'm sorry!" she shouted as she stood up on Casey's bed.

"You can sit down now," Casey said and started laughing.

Olivia let herself drop down on Casey's bed and held her knees up to her chin.

"How did you do it?" she asked Casey.

"Do what?"

"Get over her," Olivia said softly. "I just can't do it."

"You never really get over Alex," Casey teased. "But there's a support group that I joined. We meet every Sunday. It's for girls who have had their hearts ripped out of their chest by Alex Cabot."

"But you got over her so fast," Olivia reminded her.

"Having a gorgeous and limbercheerleader seduce me was a big help. In retrospect, I'm glad Alex broke up with me because Connie is…"

"Oh, you don't have to tell me, I know what that girl can do," Olivia said, finally showing signs of her former self. "I'm happy for you two."

"Thanks, so am I. It's just going to suck when I'm in Seattle and she's in Pennsylvania, but we'll make it work."

"Is Alex coming after all?"

"She asked about you," Casey admitted. "I told her you were coming."

"And?" Olivia asked, her voice sounding more perky than usual.

"She said she might drop by."

"Drop by? Drop by?" Olivia asked, frustrated. "This is Lollapalooza, you don't just drop by. So we're supposed to just wait here, wondering if she's going to show up? And even if she does show up, she'll probably bring Dana."

"Liv, chill. She's not with Dana. She stopped seeing her in October."

"And you guys didn't tell me?"

"You weren't talking to anybody, Olivia!" Casey reminded her.

"But this whole time, I thought she was having sex with Dana and it turns out she wasn't," Olivia said as she rocked back and forth with her knees clutched to her chest. "I've been torturing myself when I could have just…"

"Could have what?" Casey asked. "It's not in your hands; it's in Alex's. If she wants to see you, she'll see you."

The girls caught up for another hour before Casey suggested that they should load up their cars and get ready to head over to the hotel near the venue. Olivia wanted to wait for Alex, but her friends told her that it was no use. Alex had been expected to arrive half an hour ago and it wasn't like her to be late, so that must have meant she wasn't coming.

"We'll just sell the other ticket," Casey said nonchalantly.

"But it's Alex's," Olivia insisted.

"When is Alex ever late?" Abbie asked. "She isn't coming, Liv, but you still have us."

Olivia felt the tears start to form, but she didn't want her friends to see her cry over Alex even though they knew it's what she did on a regular basis.

"You're right," Olivia said, trying to change the subject. "I have the four of you and tomorrow I'm going to Lollapalooza."

"Where we will rock out to Alice In Chains and Rage Against the Machine," Casey said excitedly.

"And Babes In Toyland," Olivia added.

"Which we wouldn't have even known about if not for Tiffany," Abbie reminded her. "How a 7th grader is cooler than us is way beyond me."

"Everyone is cooler than you," Connie teased.

The banter between Abbie and Connie continued for another five minutes and Olivia enjoyed every second of it. She felt as if they were in high school again and she was still trying to convince Connie to tolerate Abbie. Then she looked around and remembered that someone was missing.

"She'll come around eventually," Abbie said as she held Olivia.

They had stalled for as long as they could before they grabbed their bags from the living room and loaded up the two cars they were taking. Olivia had just tossed her bag into the trunk of Serena's car when an all too familiar red Mercedes pulled up near Casey's house.

"Alex!" Olivia shouted. Her friends tried to control her, but she easily escaped Abbie and Casey's grip and ran to Alex.

"Liv!" Alex said excitedly and made her way over to her. When they met up on the grass in Casey's front yard, Alex jumped onto Olivia and tackled her to the ground. "Baby, is it really you?"

Olivia examined Alex's babydoll dress and sorority cardigan. Her glasses were now replaced by contact lenses and she was wearing more make-up than she had before. The awkward girl she had once known had been replaced by an alluring young woman, but she knew deep down she'd always be her Alex.

"You look so…different," Alex and Olivia said in unison.

"I missed you so much," Alex told her. "I've been thinking about you nonstop. I just didn't call you because I was just so ashamed of how I acted in the fall. I know you didn't cheat on me, Olivia. I know Jenny made that up, but I was so focused on what could be happening instead of what was actually happening."

"Save it," Olivia said, pressing a finger to Alex's lips. "We can talk about it later. Right now, I just want to take in the moment."

"Those two are so pathetic," Abbie said to the other girls as Alex and Olivia were making out on the grass. "The plan worked perfectly. They fell right into our little trap."

"What trap?" Connie asked.

"We set this whole thing up," Casey told her girlfriend. "They're both too stubborn to do it themselves, so we decided to intervene. We told Olivia Alex was coming because they only way she'd show up is if there was a possibility she could see Alex. We told Alex Olivia wouldn't be here because if she knew Olivia was coming, there's no way in Hell she'd show her face here. But we told Olivia that Alex knew she was coming so she wouldn't give up hope."

"We've been screwing with their heads for the past two weeks," Abbie said.

"See, Lollapalooza is a powerful thing," Casey began. "It brings people together. Case in point, those two who are now groping each other on my front yard."

"Come on, you two!" Connie shouted. "It's time to go."

"No," Serena insisted. "I wanna watch."

"Why?" Abbie asked. "This is kid's stuff compared to what we do in our apartment and what I'm going to do to you tonight in our hotel room."

"One thing's for sure," Serena began. "Alex is getting some of Livya's Lixx tonight."

The End :)


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